Isha Sesay
A HOMELESS man in Mallorca has been jailed for failing to comply with home confinement during last year’s lockdown.
The man, aged 56, pleaded guilty to a crime of serious disobedience at Palma Court and was handed a four month prison sentence.
According to prosecutors, police found him outside multiple times between March and April of last year.
This was during Spain’s state of alarm – a period when the entire population was confined to their homes.
Each time he was caught, officers asked him to seek refuge at a shelter.
These instructions were ignored and on the fourth time he was found eating on the stairs of Palma’s Calle de la Riera, he was arrested.
Initially, prosecutors requested eight months in prison for the defendant, but an agreement was made and the sentence was halved.
During the state of alarm in Mallorca, several makeshift shelters were created to house the homeless.
The Mallorcan Institute of Social Affairs transformed many of the island’s sports centres, with the Sant Ferran Sports Centre being the first to get up and running.
RCD Mallorca also created a shelter inside the stadium’s sports centre.
Housing 100 rough sleepers, the dedicated space was made available to those without homes on the condition that they did not have symptoms of coronavirus.
Spain’s most successful department store, El Corte Ingles, also donated mattresses and other essential items to ensure the new guests were comfortable.
