Daniel Sancho returns to the dock. He faces the death penalty for the alleged murder of Colombian Edwin Arrieta on August 2, 2023. Ahead, a trial that resumed this week awaiting a verdict that if he is guilty, Rodolfo Sancho’s son will be able to opt to the economic aid that Spain provides to its citizens imprisoned in other countries of up to 120 euros per month. His name will be one more on the list of the 687 prisoners currently assisted by the network of Spanish Consular Offices.
From Fundación +34, its director, Javier Casado, explains to ‘La Información’ that it is an aid that in general “is usually around 100 euros per month.” This help is guaranteed but it will be the prisoner who must voluntarily request assistance. The personal consular cares for Spanish prisoners from the moment of communication of their arrest, in accordance with the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963.
In the case of Sancho, as is the case with the other Spanish prisoner who is serving his sentence in the Koh Samui prison, he will receive, once the sentence is known, said monthly income through the pecunio, which is the store they have in prison. . and every day they will be able to buy a maximum of things.
This is aid intended for prisoners who are detained in prisons under conditions significantly inferior to those in Spain. The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs details that “It is the Consular Offices that provide monthly financial aid so that they can cover their basic needs.” From Fundación +34, through its network of more than 400 volunteers around the world, they provide humanitarian care.
They provide prisoners with basic necessities as well as medical assistance within the same prison. “Every three months we bring hygiene kits to prisoners in certain prisons.” In some prisons, a simple infection can become very complicated.
Non-financial assistance to Spanish prisoners abroad
The Government of Spain, through the Consulates, is in charge of the rest of the procedures. But it’s not just financial aid. There is also non-financial assistance:
Receive periodic visits from consular personnel to check the situation of the detainee. Communicate the arrest, prior authorization and request of the prisoner, to their family members or to persons they determine. Facilitate the sending of medications to your family and friends when the prison system of the country in which you are serving your sentence is permitted. Provide, as a guideline, a list of specialist lawyers with proven experience in certain types of cases, who may voluntarily be able to be hired by Spanish detainees. Deliver messages and correspondence to the detainee. Deliver reading material and to write letters. Request information about the case from local authorities, ensuring that the detainee receives adequate treatment by the police or prison authorities, ensuring the detainee’s state of health, and verifying his or her adequate nutrition and medical treatment. . Assist, if the convicted person so wishes, in the request for transfer to serve their sentence in Spain (within the framework of the Agreements on the Transfer of Persons Sentenced to Custodial Sentences signed by Spain and the country in question). , consular staff may attend the trials of Spanish detainees abroad in those cases in which there are suspicions of a possible violation of their rights or that there are no adequate procedural guarantees.
