An investigation by the Civil Guard has put the spotlight on a plot that supposedly did business with the dead of Algerian emigration to Spanish coasts. As published this Monday in the newspaper The truth, agents have made four arrests this weekend and there are at least 20 people under investigation in Murcia, Alicante, Almería and Madrid; among them, funeral home employees, forensic assistants and Justice Administration personnel assigned to the Institute of Legal Medicine of Cartagena. Some members of the network are suspected of charging relatives of the deceased to fraudulently facilitate the identification and procedures for the repatriation of the bodies, according to the Murcia newspaper.
The Court of Instruction 4 of Cartagena is coordinating the proceedings, which are under summary secrecy. The Superior Court of Justice of Murcia has reported that the judge has ordered the entry into provisional prison with notice and without bail for two of the four detainees. “These detainees are being investigated for membership in a criminal organization, fraud, falsification of public documents and crimes once morest respect for the deceased,” states the note sent to the media. This Monday, the investigating judge took statements from four of those investigated, among whom were two officials from the Administration of Justice destined for the Institute of Forensic Medicine.
The investigation began a few months ago following a complaint regarding the publication of photographs of corpses of Algerian immigrants who died in their attempt to reach Spain. The photographs had been taken in autopsy rooms and their leak would only be possible with the connivance of employees of the Institute of Legal Medicine. The images provided very valuable information for intermediaries contacted by the families of the emigrants who died on their boat journey and who sought to confirm the death, identify their loved ones and repatriate them to Algeria. The investigation focuses on the connection with Algeria because it is from this country that the clandestine emigrants come from and arrive at the coasts of Almería, Murcia, Alicante and the Balearic Islands, focal points of the network.
The network, according to The truth, charged the relatives of the victims different amounts, the amount of which was not disclosed, for fraudulently obtaining the identification of the bodies. It is not clear, however, if it was an informal identification with which to confirm to the families – through photographs, for example – that the deceased was who they were looking for or if, in addition, there is falsification of documents with the that a formal but fraudulent identification was forced to carry out the repatriation.
In Spain there is a lack of clear and homogeneous protocols to proceed with the search for missing persons and the identification of deceased persons from irregular emigration. The lack of information and an accessible channel has been promoting the appearance of people who mediate between the Spanish authorities and family members for years. The majority do it altruistically, out of conviction and without charging them, but profiteers have also emerged who have made a business out of the pain of hundreds of families who do not know where to turn.
The investigation led the agents to carry out 13 entries and searches this Saturday, three in the Region of Murcia (in Murcia capital, Molina de Segura and Cartagena), four in Almería and one in Jaén.
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The investigation aims to clarify whether the activities of this alleged plot incurred crimes once morest freedom of conscience, once morest religious sentiments and respect for the deceased, and for membership in a criminal organization, revelation of secrets, omission of the duty to prosecute crimes, fraud and bribery.
