In a case of shocking religious intolerance in Spain, a Muslim boat captain pushed six Christians overboard because they were praying.
Alain NB, a Muslim Cameroonian immigrant, is now on trial for his actions. The inflatable boat he captained had been carrying migrants from Morocco to the southern shores of Spain, CBN News reports.
An account of the incident by The Express Tribune recounts that the accused blamed the Christians for causing a storm on the seas by praying. There were 29 survivors, and one of them narrated what had come to pass: "Alain NB blamed the rough seas which were rocking the boat on prayers led by a Catholic pastor on board."
The captain was not alone in blaming the Christian passangers. There was another Cameroonian passenger on board, who believed that it was the Christians' prayers that caused the seas to roughen up. He, however, passed away before the trial.
One of the witnesses' testimonies suggests that the accused badly wounded a Nigerian pastor, and then went on to throw him off the boat, into the seas. This was not before they robbed the pastor of all the money he had on him, which totaled up to thousands in cash.
The prosecution team claimed that the Cameroonians were well aware of the fact that the victims could not possibly survive and that they would die, either by drowning, from the cold, or from the physical injuries they had suffered. They were aware of the low temperature, the rough seas and the great distance from the coast and the absence of any nearby boats which could rescue them.
The captain has been charged with murders stemming from religious motivation, and now faces a 90-year prison sentence.