Also distributed in Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote.
1.50€ at newsagents.
THE INDEPENDENT ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER WITH LOCAL, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL NEWS
EDITION 625
FRIDAY 3rd MAY TO THURSDAY 16th MAY 2019 MOVIES AT ...
EATING OUT & ABOUT
PAGES PA 25 - 27
Your dining experience aroundd our o restaurants
FORTNIGHTLY SUPPLEMENT NT
property
PAGES 39 -48
guide
SEXIST VIOLENCE: THESE SENSELESS MURDERS HAVE TO STOP! Widespread condemnation after mother and son stoned to death
T
HE horrific murder of a 39-year-old German woman and her ten-year-old son in Adeje has shocked not only Tenerife, the Canary Islands and Spain but other parts of the world too. The terrible deaths inside a cave near the Barranco del Infierno last Tuesday, together with the escape of the mother’s other son, aged just six, hit the international headlines, with sexist violence once again to blame. Leading politicians, help groups, women’s organisations, the police and councils and governments at all levels all expressed their utter despair at the double murder, for which the woman’s German husband is currently being held in prison without bail. He is accused of both murders and the attempted
murder of the six-year-old who managed to run away from the cave where the family were reportedly lured on the pretext of having a family picnic and Easter egg hunt. The younger boy was found distressed and cr ying, speaking only German, as he ran towards the coast down the mountainside and was found by a local resident who contacted the police. The youngster was able to tell them what happened and a search party involving 100 people was sent out to search the many caves - there are about 100 - in the area. The two bodies were
found with fatal blows from stones on Wed-nesday. Adeje council has been leading the way in its condemnation of the murders, holding demonstrations and an official silence which were echoed across Tenerife and the Canaries. A statement from Adeje council said: “We express the pain and sorrow of the people of Adeje and the public in general for the death of a mother and her child in our borough. We condemn this act of violence, in particular as it has happened in a family setting, especially when the victims come from such a vulnerable part of our society, such as children.” The Mayor of Santa Cruz, José Manuel Bermúdez, who
led a minute’s silence in the capital, said: “With this act, we show our condemnation and absolute rejection of this murder, as well as our solidarity,. It is impossible to remain impassive in the face of a tragedy like the one that occurred in the sister municipality of Adeje.” Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez denounced the murders on Twitter, posting: “The worst news arrives from Adeje (Tenerife). A woman and her son have been killed. Again the #ViolenciaMachista (gender violence) hits twice. A son of the couple managed to escape. All my love for him, for his family and loved ones. We have to end this.” The 43-year-old husband has been put on 24-hour
suicide watch in Tenerife prison. The accused, originally from Saxony-Anhalt, was living in Adeje and was apparently in the midst of a separation from his wife but she and the two children had visited him from Germany. As of Monday, the German Consulate in the Canaries was making arrangements for the little boy to return to Germany where he will be looked after by other members of his family. At one stage, he still did not know about the death of his mother and brother and whilst playing with carers in Adeje and offered sweets, he took one and kept another “for my brother”. Government representative in the Canaries, Juan Salvador León said of the six-year-old
boy who escaped: “He escaped death but he will suffer all his life from the consequences of the horrible things he saw inside that cave.” Violence against women is a persistent problem in Spain. More than 990 women have been killed by their partners or former partners since 2003 when official Spanish records began. Officials have praised all the work which is being done to tr y and reduce such terrible crimes but say more needs to be done and the general public has to be more aware of the widespread problem.