Tom Ewart Smith
BROTHERS convicted of drug offences in southern Spain have been granted a royal pardon and released from prison – just in time to take part in a religious procession through the streets of Malaga.
Jesus and Salvador Lopez Moreno were serving three-year prison sentences for crimes ‘against public health,’ a Spanish legal term that often refers to drug trafficking.
They had been behind bars for offences dating back to 2017, and were sentenced by Malaga’s Criminal Court No. 5 in 2021.
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Now, thanks to a centuries-old Semana Santa tradition, they are free men – on one condition: they must not reoffend.
The unusual custom of Holy Week pardons is one of Spain’s most distinctive Easter rituals.
The tradition is said to trace back to the 18th century, during a plague outbreak in Malaga.
Legend has it that when authorities cancelled the Holy Week processions, prisoners at the local jail took matters into their own hands.
They broke out, carried the image of Jesus ‘El Rico’ through the streets, and then voluntarily returned to their cells.
Miraculously, the plague subsided shortly after.
King Charles III was so moved that he granted the brotherhood of Nuestro Padre Jesus El Rico the right to request the release of one inmate every year.
More than two centuries later, the Lopez Moreno brothers became the latest beneficiaries of that legacy.
Modern-day Semana Santa pardons are no longer based on miracles or royal whim.
Religious brotherhoods submit formal applications, and only prisoners who meet strict criteria – typically minor, non-violent offenders with positive reports from judges and prosecutors – are considered.
The Ministry of Justice reviews the requests and, if approved by the Council of Ministers, publishes the decrees in Spain’s Official State Gazette (BOE).
This year, six pardons have been granted – five to men, and one to a woman.
Alongside the Malaga brothers, releases were approved for convicts in Leon, Zaragoza, Jaen, and Granada.
Four of the six had been sentenced for drug-related crimes, one for theft, and another for receiving stolen goods.
In each case, the remainder of their prison sentence has been lifted – provided they stay out of legal trouble for a number of years.
The most symbolic of these releases took place in Granada, where another drug offender was freed in time for the Good Friday procession led by the Brotherhood of Our Lady of Solitude and the Descent of the Lord.
There, as tradition dictates, the freed prisoner is flanked by members of the brotherhood, one of whom carries a ceremonial cushion bearing the royal pardon.
