Four months after the death and dismemberment of the Colombian surgeon Edwin Arrieta, some details of the appeals for the decision that the Thai justice made last August are beginning to become known. The Arrieta family has appealed the sentence to request that the civil liability granted to the victim’s parents be increased, who with his death had been left without financial support, according to sources from the Ospina Abogados firm, which represents the relatives in Spain. The court established that Sancho had to compensate the family of the deceased with around 112,000 euros (4 million bahts, official Thai currency). Thai lawyers consider that it could be increased to 840,000 euros (30 million bahts), according to lawyer Juan Gonzalo Ospina in a telephone conversation.
The appeal, presented on November 29, demands a review of the ruling for reasons such as the “forcefulness” of the police evidence and the condemned man’s lack of repentance and asks that the sentence be increased to the death penalty, according to Efe, which has had access to the court notification. “The Court of Appeals is requested to review the first instance ruling and declare the accused guilty under article 289(4) of the Penal Code, which establishes the death penalty as the only applicable penalty,” states the text signed by Nattha Jongratwanin. Lakthe Arrietas’ attorney in Thailand, according to the notification sent to Sancho’s lawyer, Apirchat Srinual. “The family does not want the death penalty. “She is satisfied with the sentence,” says Ospina. “The maximum sentence has been requested,” he adds, referring to the sentence that has already been commuted to life imprisonment.
He was considered guilty of the three crimes for which he has been prosecuted: premeditated murder, dismemberment and concealment of the body; and the destruction of the victim’s passport. Arrieta, 44, died on the island of Phangan, where he had met Sancho, son of actor Rodolfo Sancho and a budding chef at the time of the crime, to spend a few days on vacation. The sentence was due to the “beneficial collaboration” that Sancho provided during the investigation, as explained by the judge the day the resolution was announced.
Although at first, the defense of the Arrieta family showed their agreement with the court decision, as the months passed, the situation has changed and they have ended up filing the appeal. The letter, Ospina details, has been processed taking into account the criteria and calculations of the Thai judicial team, who have considered it “opportune” to claim an increase in that compensation, taking into account the money that the family has stopped receiving and will no longer receive. during his life due to the death of the plastic surgeon. The behavior during these months of the opposing party to the procedure, which represents Daniel Sancho, has also weighed, he adds. “No compensation, no rapprochement,” details the lawyer. The lawyer has already stressed on other occasions that Thai law is strict in cases in which the convicted person tries to serve his sentence in Spain and that the damage that has been caused must be recognized and apologized for, in addition to compensation being paid. for civil liability.
Daniel Sancho’s defense, in which the law firms of Marcos García-Montes and Balfagón y Chippirrás participate, intend to exhaust the four-month extensions provided for by Thai legislation. The deadline to present your appeal, already announced, ends on December 29, but they do not rule out asking for more time to polish the document, according to sources from the legal offices.
In the event that the defense resources do not achieve a reduction in sentence, there is the possibility that your case will be included in the pardon measures granted by the Thai monarch Maha Vajiralongkorn, who reigns as Rama series of requirements, such as having paid compensation to the family and having asked for forgiveness for the damage caused, as explained in August by Javier Casado, director of the +34 Foundation, dedicated to assisting Spanish prisoners abroad. This request for forgiveness, which is processed by the Ministry of Justice, would allow the life sentence to be changed to a sentence assessed for a series of years and then the possibility of continuing to serve his sentence in a Spanish prison would be more feasible.
