As Abogacía Española Foundation Escloth, withwe consider which the work of los and the lawyers is broader than the defense Legal of a case, as It constitutes a essential piece in the puddening from the human rights and access to justice de everybody in our society. From the institutional approach that inspires our mission, we feel in the responsibility to make our resources available to collaboration systems or structures that favor the right to defense of our nationals.
There is a significant volume of Spanish men and women that, as a consequence of its situation socioeconomic, reaches these circumstances linked to the commission de drug trafficking offenses. These are usually people with no criminal record and financial difficulties who at one point in their life agree to be "mules" in exchange for a symbolic amount of money, frequently captured and deceived by perfectly structured mafias. Those who constitute the link in the chain take prison sentences in foreign prisons that they could never have imagined.
Our Accumulated experience in this sector, mainly in Latin America and Morocco, has allowed us to know the prison reality in some countries of the world, lo that, together with the lack of guarantees of these people in their access to justice, has us taken to structure andth project in the following phases:
1. Thestorage legal-penitentiaryo in the country where are they detained with a double objective:
- Gguarantee su access to quality defense
- To announce the power to be transferred to our country to finish serving their sentences in centros penitenciarios Spanish people.
2. Possibility of participation in the "Restauravidas: Reintegration in the Country of Origin" program, to facilitate the reintegration process once in Spain y work the process of accountability by the commission of the crime.
3. Awareness of the risks involved participate in activities traffic de small amounts of drugs, and thus, contribute to prevent cases of imprisonment of Spaniards abroad.
Thanks to integral approach of the project, which allows us to support Spanish men and women who return beyond the initial legal assistance, we can prevent those who are released from prison from entering again a circle of marginalization from which it is impossible for them to escape. Currently, a collaboration agreement signed with the "La Caixa" Foundation provides the Foundation Abogacía Española funds to execute this project.
Between 2013 and 2017 there were more than 2000 Spanish prisoners in countries around the world. Between 2018 and 2021 the number followed a downward trend, reaching the lowest peak due to the paralysis of communications derived from the Covid-19 pandemic. In the Latest News the figure has increased again, standing at 756 men and 99 women, which amounts to a total of 855 people.
The number of male prisoners is significantly higher than that of of: they exclusively represent a 11,5% of the total, what makes them especially vulnerable for multiple reasons. They experience social reproach by breaking with the role assigned by the established gender mandates; also personal, since on many occasions they support the family unit and, despite being imprisoned, the role of “caregiver” is not assumed by other family members; as well as penitentiary, since the conditions of fulfillment are hardened by being a woman. This is because prisons were conceived by men and for men, which implies having fewer spaces and resources that consider their needs differently.
On the occasion of the commemoration of the International Day to Combat Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, on June 26, from the Foundation Abogacía Española An event was organized at the Madrid V Penitentiary Center (Soto del Real) with the aim of transmitting the message that drug trafficking is never the solution. The event was screened short film "Mula", together with the testimonies of some of its protagonists, before 34 prisoners selected by the management of the Penitentiary Center who are serving a sentence for drug trafficking. About the event a report in Informativos Telecinco, report on Cadena Ser and a news for the Foundation's website.
