The Government of Gibraltar has described as «very serious violation» of its sovereignty and jurisdiction the intervention of two agents of the Customs Surveillance Service of Spain, who were injured of varying degrees in the early hours of Thursday morning after being stoned on the eastern beach of Gibraltar while trying to abort a cache of smuggled tobacco.
As stated by the governments of Gibraltar and the United Kingdom in a joint statement, this intervention «would constitute a very serious breach of the law» in the case of «confirming that the Spanish officers fired their weapons in Gibraltar», in addition to being an action «reckless and dangerous» in an area, as they have stressed, «high density of civilian population, given the proximity of a residential development».
In this context, Gibraltar and the United Kingdom have considered that the events «will require careful assessment as to the nature and level of the diplomatic response», and have therefore explained that «they will contact Spanish officials to ask them for explanations of this violation of Gibraltar’s sovereignty before making a final decision on the measures to be taken».
«The evidence surrounding this incident reveals a serious breach of British sovereignty and potentially the most serious and dangerous incident for many years,» said Chief Minister Fabian Picardo, who noted, however, that «before reacting» they will «be sure of the facts.» «But the events indicate that the actions of the Spanish officials are intolerable», he criticized.
Two agents of the Spanish Customs Surveillance Service have been injured of varying degrees in the early hours of Thursday after being stoned on the eastern beach of Gibraltar by a group of people allegedly related to tobacco smuggling.
As explained to Europa Press sources of Customs Surveillance, the events occurred after five o’clock in the morning when an auxiliary vessel of the patrol boat Surveillance observed movement that could be related to the smuggling of snuff in waters near the Gibraltar fence.
The agents suffered problems in the boat and being on the eastern beach of Gibraltar were surrounded by a group of people who began to throw stones at them, some of them of large size. Finally, they were able to refloat the boat and reach the patrol boat by rowing.
However, both agents suffered facial injuries such as a broken nasal septum to one of them and several broken bones in the face of the second one, who needed hospitalization. In addition, several cuts that have required stitches The Government of Gibraltar has explained that they contacted their Spanish counterparts «to inquire about the welfare of the SVA officers concerned.» «The Spanish law enforcement agencies know that they can request and count on the support of the Gibraltarian law enforcement agencies if they need to continue a pursuit in Gibraltar, but it seems that they have not done so in this case», they have warned.
«The illegal activity of a gang of individuals apparently involved in unlawful acts in Gibraltar is unacceptable and represents an activity that the Government and law enforcement in Gibraltar will not tolerate,» the statement added.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
