Awarded Best
ISSUE NO. 1709
5 - 11 April 2018
Mayor backs prison plans RAMON FERNANDEZ PACHECO, the mayor of Almeria City, has met with petitioners at the council’s headquarters who gathered signatures in support of expanding so-called permanent prison sentences. Fernandez Pacheco was joined by fellow members of the conservative Partido Popular (PP) who supported efforts to add more crimes to the list of those which qualify for the penalty. The mayor said he supported the push to expand the sentencing powers. He said the penalty would be used against people who showed they could not be rehabilitated and were likely to commit further crimes on release. Revisable permanent prison sentences give courts powers to put people found guilty of the most serious crimes in prison indefinitely, or until they are deemed fit for release. Those in favour of the sentences argue they are needed to deter serious crimes and that such penalties exist elsewhere in Europe. Opponents of the sentence claim it does away with attempts to rehabilitate criminals and that it would see some spend the rest of their lives behind bars. Recent efforts to expand the sentences were unsuccessful after Spain’s parliament voted against PP proposals. Debate became more charged in the wake Ana Quezada’s murder of Gabriel Cruz.
Newspaper in Spain 2018
COSTA DE ALMERÍA YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION
WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM
Murder probe Expat held over suspected killing by Joe Gerrard A Lithuanian man has been remanded in custody on suspicion of murdering his partner in the British expatriate hotspot of Albox. Known only as MP, the alleged murderer faces up to 15 years in prison for murder charges. The 48-year-old victim reported him to police in 2016, but he was later acquitted in court, according to the provincial Women’s Institute. A post mortem examination revealed that Maria del Carmen died of blood loss but the method of murder remains unclear. Medics pronounced the woman dead after the suspect, 38, himself called an ambulance, finding her body in the toilet of the couple’s Calle Longo home. According to reports there were numerous altercations between the couple along the years, as well as several restraining orders put forward, but blocked by the victim who refused to stand against the accused in court. The latest alleged case of domestic violence has sparked outrage, with several demon-
One of the protests held in Almeria following the death of Maria del Carmen. strations held throughout the province. The Junta de Andalucia’s delegate in Almeria Gracia Fernandez, called for central government to tackle the issue following the latest ‘act of terrorism which does not cease, because there is no other way of calling it.’
Albox Council released a statement in the wake of the shocking incident, in which the town hall expressed its ‘sincere condolences to the victim’s family and friends, as well as our ever more firm commitment to continue fighting against domestic violence.’