Spain considering Penal Code reform

MADRID, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- Members of the Spanish Justice Ministry say they want changes in the current Penal Code to allow for longer sentences for sex offenders and terrorists.

Justice Minister Mariano Fernandez Bermejo and Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said this week in Madrid that the code reform would allow officials to impose lengthier sentences to ensure such offenders remain in prison, El Pais said Friday.

The two Spanish officials cited the case of convicted rapist Jose Rodriguez Salvador who initially had been sentenced to 300 years in prison for 17 rapes in the 1980s, but was released in 2007.

Under the reform proposal, not only would stiffer sentences apply to such convicts but those criminals would also be subject to a 20-year surveillance period after their release, El Pais said.

The Spanish newspaper said the proposal also includes a call for a pedophile directory and longer sentences for burglars and those caught smuggling illegal immigrants into Spain.