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Date Published: 10/04/2023

ARCHIVED - Convicted drug trafficker in Malaga granted Easter pardon and early release

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Each year, one prisoner in the Costa del Sol receives an Easter pardon

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Convicted drug trafficker in Malaga granted Easter pardon and early release

Antonio Daniel, convicted by the Malaga courts of drug trafficking in September 2021 and sentenced to three years behind bars, was granted release 10 months early on Holy Wednesday (April 5) as part of a centuries-old tradition of pardon.

For the past 272 years, the Church Brotherhood of Jesús El Rico has been allowed to petition the Spanish Ministry of Justice to release one prisoner during Easter Week and this year, the 31-year-old father won the lucky dip.

"This has changed my life. My family didn't believe it. I just want to keep working and be with them," Mr Daniel said.

"I am grateful for this new opportunity," he added.

Why are prisoners released in Malaga, Spain at Easter?

The highly controversial tradition dates back to the rule of King Carlos III in 1759. According to legend, a plague devastated Malaga that year and the terrified inmates of the prison, then located in the Plaza de la Constitución, suggested that a procession should be held in honour of Jesús El Rico in the hopes of divine intervention.

The king refused but the prisoners were not to be defeated. They escaped and paraded through the streets carrying an effigy of Christ on the cross in the longest procession ever held in the area. Once it was over, every one of them calmly returned to their cells.

The plague subsided also immediately and to give thanks, King Carlos decreed that one prisoner would be freed each year.

Interrupted only by the Spanish Civil War, the Jesús El Rico Brotherhood has been responsible for releasing one inmate every Easter.

"We just have to send a letter to the Ministry of Justice asking them to pardon a prisoner. We can't propose anyone, it's the government who decides," explained Ramón Varea, the president of the Church Brotherhood Jesús El Rico.

The selection process is rigorous, with only low-risk prisoners who can reintegrate into society making the final cut.

"Practically all of the inmates who have been released from prison by Jesús El Rico never carry out any other crime. We have to understand that we are humans and we can make mistakes," the Church president concluded.

In other news: Luxurious tourist trains prepare to hit the tracks in Andalucia this summer

Image: Cofradia el Rico

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