The Prosecutor’s Office is currently investigating possible cases of mistreatment of minors arriving by boat, occurring in shelters in the Canary Islands, both in the province of Las Palmas and in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, as confirmed to El Hierro the attorney general of the community, María Farnés. Martinez.
El País announced in its edition this Monday that the Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened four cases of possible mistreatment of minor migrants that occurred in centers in the Canary Islands.
“We can’t give more information (on these alleged crimes) because they are under investigation, but there were some. We don’t know what it will lead to, but yes, there was some”, corroborated Martínez, questioned on this subject in Valverde after the minute of silence that the Hierro Cabildo dedicated to the deaths and disappearances of the cayuco which sank on Saturday.
Two weeks ago, the main prosecutor appealed to the protocol for the care of migrant minors promoted by the government of the Canary Islands and formally warned all parties involved in the reception that she was ready to open cases for offense of abandonment if she noticed that the children’s files were left unanswered.
Martínez now recognizes that there have been “malfunctions” in the reception process which begins from the moment the minor is rescued at sea, registered by the police and handed over to the community of the Canary Islands, but for moment he doesn’t do it. see the culprits, but an expression of how public services have become overwhelmed due to the constant arrival of boats and canoes.
“Some malfunctions have occurred, although they are not attributable to anyone, neither the Canary Islands government nor us. They are typical of the situation we are experiencing and I am sure that in coordination with the Minister of Social Protection and with the state security forces and agencies we will be able to resolve them,” she said. .
Martínez understands that what is happening is the result of “the massive arrival of migrants, among whom there are minors”, and recommends reacting by “defending the best interests of the minor”, which, according to him, can be done through coordination meetings.
“I am sure that we will be able to resolve the small differences that may exist,” added the Attorney General, who thinks that the Canary Islands government may have put “the best will in the world” to promote its reception protocol, even if it was a document that required “reflection to see the consequences”.
While the courts elucidate the dispute that has been opened in this regard, “the important thing”, he stressed, is how the rules in force throughout Spain since 2014 are applied, so that children who arrive in Cayuco without dependent parents be transferred “as quickly as possible to a reception center.
And to this end, the main prosecutor of the Canary Islands and the juvenile prosecutor of the State Attorney General’s Office, Teresa Gisbert, plans to meet this week in Tenerife with the Minister of Social Protection of the Government of the Canary Islands. , Candelaria Delgado, “with the best will of all”.
