On November 15, at the headquarters of the European Parliament in
Strasbourg, a roundtable meeting was held on human rights violations in
the Canary Islands. The litmus test was the case of Vladimir Kokorev,
a Spanish citizen, who, until recently, with his wife and son, was
preparing to enter a third year of “provisional detention” in a Las
Palmas prison with no trial or indict ment.
On September 28, the same issue brought prominent lawyers and experts to the Brussels headquarters of the European Parliament (EP).
Both events were sponsored by MEP Fulvio Martusiello, chairman of the EU-Israel commission and member of the Committee on contraventions and maladministration in relation to money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion.
As a follow-up to the Brussels meeting, Mr Martusiello sent an letter to Spanish supervisory authorities, including the General Council of the Judiciary (Consejo General de Poder Judicial), the High Courts of Madrid (Audiencia Nacional de Madrid) and the General Prosecutor Office. He called on Spain to clarify and transfer the case from Las Palmas to Madrid to ensure objectivity.
As the letter went unanswered, a second EP meeting took place, this time in Strasbourg. A more focused appeal was issued in a letter to Mr Emilio Moya Valdes chairing the Las Palmas provincial court; to the Spanish Minister of Justice Rafael Catala Polo; the Spanish Ombudsman Francisco Fernandez Marugan, and to Mr Carlos Lesmes Serrano chairing the General Council of the Judiciary.
This much harsher description of the case carries the signatures of four MEPs: Fulvio Martusciello, Barbara Matera, Aldo Pariciello and Heinz Becker. The latter expresses “bewilderment” “at Spain’s treatment of Kokorev” and calls on Spain to end this “horrifying human rights violation”.
MEPs are especially ignited by the fact that Judge Serrano, finding no evidence of money laundering, is now looking for signs of any other crime, conveniently forgetting that Kokorevs’ extradition to Spain was on charges of laundering for President Obiang of Equatorial Guinea.
While violating the law, this “pivot” has stretched out the Kokorev’s provisional detention, turning it into punishment without charge. Maximum penalty for laundering is six years, whereas the Kokorevs have served two years – in the absence of any trial or evidence of guilt.
It was mostly due to the MEPs’ call and the publicity that the case received in Europe in September-October 2017 that Kokorev’s wife and son were promptly released on the eve of the Brussels press conference. Their condition, however, is far from free as they are confined to the Canaries and the Spanish mainland is out of reach.
Vladimir Kokorev remains in prison with an uncertain future.
Aldo Pariciello, stating the MEPs’ common message, notes:
“I could not believe such an outrage is possible in a modern European country until I went into the details of the Kokorev case.
“Failures of justice and investigation do happen but things occurring in the Canaries cannot be called a failure.
“This is a deliberate breach of basic rights of European citizens to whom European laws guarantee the fastest possible and unbiased trial and a right to a fair verdict.
“In Kokorev’s case, I can see neither a trial nor any prospects for legal proceedings.
“All I see is an elderly senior citizen who has been tortured for two years without his guilt having been established”.
No less harsh are the comments by Fulvio Martusciello :
“As we can see, Spanish law enforcement agencies trample the fundamental provisions of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights:
1) A person can be found guilty only after conviction by a competent court.
2) Legal proceedings are conducted within a reasonable time.
3) A person charged with an offence must be informed of the cause of the accusation to allow him preparing his defence.
“As I know, Mr. Kokorev has not faced any court charges since his arrest in 2015. Which terms of pre-trial investigation are considered reasonable in the Canary islands? Two years? Five years? Ten years?
“This is an absurd situation and it gives grounds to question the existence of any real and motivated charges against him.
“Suppose Kokorev is charged of money laundering. So where is investigation of this crime? If there is none, is it lawful to talk about money laundering?»
In his conclusions, Mr Martusciello called for the establishment of an independent body to investigate human rights violations and judicial abuses in the Canary Islands.
It is essential to determine whether disregard for European values is a Canarian episode or a fundamental flaw of the Spanish justice system.
New Europe
On September 28, the same issue brought prominent lawyers and experts to the Brussels headquarters of the European Parliament (EP).
Both events were sponsored by MEP Fulvio Martusiello, chairman of the EU-Israel commission and member of the Committee on contraventions and maladministration in relation to money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion.
As a follow-up to the Brussels meeting, Mr Martusiello sent an letter to Spanish supervisory authorities, including the General Council of the Judiciary (Consejo General de Poder Judicial), the High Courts of Madrid (Audiencia Nacional de Madrid) and the General Prosecutor Office. He called on Spain to clarify and transfer the case from Las Palmas to Madrid to ensure objectivity.
As the letter went unanswered, a second EP meeting took place, this time in Strasbourg. A more focused appeal was issued in a letter to Mr Emilio Moya Valdes chairing the Las Palmas provincial court; to the Spanish Minister of Justice Rafael Catala Polo; the Spanish Ombudsman Francisco Fernandez Marugan, and to Mr Carlos Lesmes Serrano chairing the General Council of the Judiciary.
This much harsher description of the case carries the signatures of four MEPs: Fulvio Martusciello, Barbara Matera, Aldo Pariciello and Heinz Becker. The latter expresses “bewilderment” “at Spain’s treatment of Kokorev” and calls on Spain to end this “horrifying human rights violation”.
MEPs are especially ignited by the fact that Judge Serrano, finding no evidence of money laundering, is now looking for signs of any other crime, conveniently forgetting that Kokorevs’ extradition to Spain was on charges of laundering for President Obiang of Equatorial Guinea.
While violating the law, this “pivot” has stretched out the Kokorev’s provisional detention, turning it into punishment without charge. Maximum penalty for laundering is six years, whereas the Kokorevs have served two years – in the absence of any trial or evidence of guilt.
It was mostly due to the MEPs’ call and the publicity that the case received in Europe in September-October 2017 that Kokorev’s wife and son were promptly released on the eve of the Brussels press conference. Their condition, however, is far from free as they are confined to the Canaries and the Spanish mainland is out of reach.
Vladimir Kokorev remains in prison with an uncertain future.
Aldo Pariciello, stating the MEPs’ common message, notes:
“I could not believe such an outrage is possible in a modern European country until I went into the details of the Kokorev case.
“Failures of justice and investigation do happen but things occurring in the Canaries cannot be called a failure.
“This is a deliberate breach of basic rights of European citizens to whom European laws guarantee the fastest possible and unbiased trial and a right to a fair verdict.
“In Kokorev’s case, I can see neither a trial nor any prospects for legal proceedings.
“All I see is an elderly senior citizen who has been tortured for two years without his guilt having been established”.
No less harsh are the comments by Fulvio Martusciello :
“As we can see, Spanish law enforcement agencies trample the fundamental provisions of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights:
1) A person can be found guilty only after conviction by a competent court.
2) Legal proceedings are conducted within a reasonable time.
3) A person charged with an offence must be informed of the cause of the accusation to allow him preparing his defence.
“As I know, Mr. Kokorev has not faced any court charges since his arrest in 2015. Which terms of pre-trial investigation are considered reasonable in the Canary islands? Two years? Five years? Ten years?
“This is an absurd situation and it gives grounds to question the existence of any real and motivated charges against him.
“Suppose Kokorev is charged of money laundering. So where is investigation of this crime? If there is none, is it lawful to talk about money laundering?»
In his conclusions, Mr Martusciello called for the establishment of an independent body to investigate human rights violations and judicial abuses in the Canary Islands.
It is essential to determine whether disregard for European values is a Canarian episode or a fundamental flaw of the Spanish justice system.
New Europe
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