Tom PowellFOUR Spanish police officers are on trial for the alleged torture of two British tourists while in custody in Mallorca in 2009.
A captain and three police officers stand charged with intimidating and viciously attacking the two Brits, who had been arrested after a pub brawl during which one of them knocked out the off-duty sergeant.
They face a combined sentence of 26 years imprisonment should they be convicted.
It is said that the four officers took the detainees back into custody, where they beat them with their bare fists, a truncheon and stared menacingly into their eyes until they began to panic.
Both had to be taken to hospital twice during the night after sustaining arm fractures, bruising and other facial injuries.
However, the police captain continues to deny the injuries were caused by his team, arguing they are the result of the fight in the pub.
He further claimed one of the prisoners had hurt himself inside his cell and that the other had fallen on his face after trying to flee from the patrol car.
But investigators are adamant the injuries sustained are too severe to match this version of events.
The captain is facing 11 years in prison while the three officers under his command each face five years, if they are found guilty.
This dates from 2009 ? Five years ? Doesn’t justice grind exceedingly slow in Spain ?
@ stefanjo
Really? Stephen Lawrence ring any bells???
Kapa etc. Didn’t know it was a competition. However, not an apt comparison. This is four coppers caught bang to rights. The Lawrence debacle had many more complications and obfuscations than this one. Odd how often comparisons with Britain are drawn, when criticisms of Spanish shenanigans are highlighted. “Two wrongs don’t make a right” Ever heard that one ?
Not a competition in a way, merely a response on the apparent cynicism/sarcasm in your post. What other country should I Make comparisons with? No idea what they do in the rest of europe so cannot comment, however, will await the inevitable slam-fest from the knockers.
”stared menacingly into their eyes until they began to panic”. So funny. If you have out of control thugs they do deserve a little slap but not to the extent that bones are broken. In all likelihood if there is a fight in a bar in Spain the Police will probably bash anyone to get everyone’s attention. There is probably a balance to be had between the UK where they cannot touch a rioter setting a shop alight to Spain where they are heavy handed. The reason why the off duty Sergeant got knocked out is because he probably had plain clothes on and the ‘thugs’ thought they were being attacked or he just attacked them anyway. Hard to comment on the story without the full facts and these things are normally over in less than a minute.