Double Standards

Recent incidents have once again proved that, as was the case on 16th December 2006, different standards apply to different people.

As proved on two recent cases, double standards have streached a bit further, depending whether you are a Gibraltarian or Spanish national.

On Thursday 6th November 2009 the Gibraltar Police launch drew close to a Spanish boat which was on British Gibraltar territorial waters, requesting their documentation, on production of their ID's, one of them was arrested for being the subject of an arrest warrant.

Following the intervention of the Spanish Foreign Ministry the Spanish national was allowed to walk out free on the following day.

I am sure that, had it been a Gibraltarian, he would have been fined, in the first place, for the case of which he had been summoned to court for, and I would imagine, for evading a court summon.

But things don't end here, and standars were streached even further.

Four Spanish nationals using firearms within Gibraltar territorial waters are allowed to walk out free shortly after Spanish Interior Minister's intervention.

On the 8th December the Spanish Guardia Civil launch pursued two suspected Spanish smugglers, the chase continued with shots being fired by the Guardia Civil within British Gibraltar Territorial Waters and ended when the suspected smugglers crashed into the rocks within the Gibraltar harbour near the area of Morrisons Supermarket.

The Royal Gibraltar Police arrested the four Guardia Civiles and the two suspected smugglers.

Following intervention by the Spanish Interior Minister the four Spanish Guardia Civiles were released. The suspected Spanish smugglers have not been released yet pending investigation for importing a rigid inflatable boat.

In other words, crashing against Gibraltar's shoreline with a Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat seems to be a far bigger offence than possessing firearms without a valid firearms certificate, prove of this is the fact that the suspected smugglers were not released.

---------------------

The Gibraltar Firearms Act:

Penalty for purchasing or possessing firearms or ammunition without certificate.

(1937 c. 12. s.1) 3.(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act. no person shall purchase, acquire or have in his possession any firearm or ammunition to which this Part applies unless he holds a certificate in force at the time.

(2) A person who-

(a) purchases, acquires or has in his possession any firearm or ammunition to which this Part applies without holding a certificate in force at the time, or otherwise than as authorized by such certificate, or, in the case of ammunition, in quantities in excess of those so authorized: or

(b) fails to comply with any conditions subject to which a certificate is held by him, is, subject to the provisions of this Act, guilty of an offence and is liable, on summary conviction, to imprisonment for three months and to a fine of £1000.

----------------

One can therefore only assume that either the Spanish Guardia Civil, who have no jurisdiction in Gibraltar and upon entering Gibraltar (in this case illegally) acquire equal status as any other Spanish national, requested and were granted a firearm certificate prior to chasing the suspected smugglers within British Territorial Waters, within the harbour and on land, or that the Gibraltar Firearms Act does not equally apply to Spanish nationals and resident Gibraltarians.

I was also under the impression that the government or police had no power to free a person once he had been arrested for having commited a criminal offence, and that it was only after a court trial that a person can be charged or not, depending on whether such person is guilty or not guilty of commiting an offence.

In this case, the Spanish Civil Guards were armed, thus there is no doubt that irrespective whether shots were fired or not, carrying firearms and ammuntions is an offence in Gibraltar.

Thereagain, I might be wrong, and offences, depending on whom they are commited by or who appologises on one's behalf, can be waived without a court hearing. As is obviouse, nobody apologised on behalf of the two suspected smuggler and they were charged £5000 or 2 months imprisonment.