The Royal Police of Gibraltar has notified the fisherman Jonathan Sánchez that he will have to appear in court on December 1 for pending matters on the Rock related to complaints filed this summer for fishing in the waters of the Strait.
Last Friday, in the early hours, a Gibraltar patrol boat boarded the fishing vessel 'Mi Daniela' to hand-deliver the court notification for several charges related to the use of nets for capturing "wild animals," obstruction of a public official, and the fishing of an endangered species.
Jonathan Sánchez, a fisherman from La Línea, shared this with Europa Press. He feels "helpless on the part of the Spanish government" and believes that this state administration "should provide me with protection." In this regard, he has requested legal assistance since Gibraltar "only accepts English lawyers," which could entail additional costs for this fisherman who has been denouncing the "harassment" by the authorities of the Rock for months.
An ongoing court matter regarding a Spanish fisherman has seen new charges arise related to incidents last summer.
Jonathan Sanchez Castillo is accused of fishing illegally in Gibraltar waters, and now also faces multiple counts of dangerous navigation, threatening behaviour and obstruction of a Wildlife Officer.
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Christian Rocca KC, got involved in the matter when concerns arose over the manner in which Mr Sanchez had been summonsed.
In court today, he and Stipendiary Magistrate, Karl Tonna, discussed the importance of ensuring that summons are issued correctly and legally to defendants outside of Gibraltar.
The DPP noted that a clear, structured process would need to be observed by the court, RGP and customs when processing summons between Gibraltar and outside jurisdictions.
A warrant of arrest was issued for Mr Sanchez, who has not yet appeared in court, for the first set of charges, which were served to him in person.
The matter has been adjourned until February 29th to allow for the new charges and summons to be translated.