La declaración de la víctima de tráfico ilegal de migrantes como prueba preconstituida y las corroboraciones externas que han de reforzar su verosimilitud

Abstract

40,100 irregular migrants arrived to Spain in 2021 and morethan 90% of them resorted to the services provided by migrant smugglingnetworks. This article analyzes the judicial use of the information gathered fromthe debriefed migrants who were smuggled by sea. The victims, who decide tocollaborate with the competent authorities, are considered protected witnesses and their testimonies, due to the risk of not being reachable at the trial hearing,are introduced in the judicial proceedings as pre-constituted evidence. Giventhe exceptional nature of this type of evidence, the European Court of HumanRights, the Spanish Constitutional Court and the Spanish Supreme Court requireto complement the evidence with objective elements. In this regard, this articlereveals that the photographs taken by the EU¿s decentralized agency, Frontex,are external corroborations that reinforce the statements made by the migrantsidentifying the boat masters as members of a migrant smuggling network.

Keywords

• dinghy
• frontex.
• irregular migrants
• migrant smuggling
• pre-constituted evidence.