An alcohol-fuelled brawl in the Rock Time bar in Albufeira’s Avenida Engenheiro Duarte Pacheco, ended up with the arrest of five foreigners.
An estimated 15 British tourists were causing a disturbance in the bar, according to the official police report, and the GNR was called to the scene at around 23:00 on Friday night. July 13th.
Three members of the Public Order Intervention Group rushed to the bar and were insulted and set upon by the group, claim the authorities.
Soldiers from the GNR Territorial Detachment of Albufeira, who were in the area but off-duty and not in uniform, attended the scene with uniformed colleagues and were attacked by the British, according to a source at the GNR Territorial Command in Faro speaking to news agency, Lusa.
The reinforcements soon dominated the angry scene by arresting five of the tourists, four aged 33 and one aged 30.
It is claimed that five soldiers were slightly injured in the fracas, three receiving medical treatment as a precaution should cases come to court. The five arrested men were whisked off to court the next day and were released with conditions.
UPDATE
Those close to the scene dismiss the official police report as inaccurate, claiming the bar users were just being noisy and were set upon by the police and dragged off, having committed no crime.
A further comment on this report gave a different view, albeit unconfirmed, "Tazered and battered through the night every half an hour, driven to a house half an hour away and beaten!! These men did absolutely nothing wrong and even the locals and families around can vouch for them that they were completely innocent." (See Comments, below)
Comments
I agree 150%!
Wise words...
Surely we won't miss you!!!
Some, like our esteemed Ed's, are actually unbiased. Would that all publications were so-inclined! Hopefully, the British Ambassador will have been consulted, given the professed innocence.
WhatEVER, there is that shameful UK 'clubbing' (excuse the pun!) experience which encouraged unruly behaviour and it IS possible the Plod were over-reacting.
We must not forget that the UK - also - has NO INDEPENDENT police complaints procedure, nor that there is, also here, a good deal of well-reported prejudice.
What would be 'ideal' is to see Albufeira being a safe holiday spot for familes AND couples, singles, retirees.. I did not see a comment from our Safe Communities govt-liaison man.
There are other countries with 'bar-strips' and various international flare-ups, even without football. I find it irksome when people say 'go to ... (anywhere else)'.
Relying merely on many decades of experience in both countries (including a stint behind a Costa bar), the presence of a non-white person would definitely exascerbate the group's experience, SO sad to say...
This is unfair. We do not know what actually happened, all we have is a brief GNR statement and allegations from the men of being of assaulted, hence we don't know what 'type' of holidaymakers these men were.
BTW, it is not only the British that get into fights and other trouble, there are plenty of other incidents involving other nationalities. I suspect it's more a youth+alcohol thing than a national characteristic of any particular country. The Brits are the overwhelming #1 visitor group in Albufeira so, therefore, there will be more punch-ups involving Brits than others.
Go to Ibiza... or stay at home.... This is good advice to give this type of "holidaymaker" they are not welcome in Portugal.
LJ, I cannot and will not judge the situation because I was not there. The GNR undoubtedly ‘have form’, but it is unlikely the alleged victims would stand any chance of redress in the courts even if there was a case to answer - as the GNR allegedly said - “your word against ours”. Unfortunately for this group of men, it was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, whatever they may, or may not have done.
I understand that Ibiza may be a good place for your friends to ‘let their hair down’ and that ‘having a good time’ is virtually obligatory. Each to their own, and perhaps it would be a safer environment in future. I would certainly never want to mess with the GNR. I am sorry that you have been left with such a bad impression of Portugal. I have to say though, that Albufeira is totally unrepresentative of not only the Algarve, but Portugal as a whole.
"Hearsay"
Not all british tourist are loud mouth drunks, these men where set upon by the GNR, young professional men, middle aged and old alike, not young louts, this was abhorrent behaviour by the authorities all tourist should now bouycot Portugal until this is stopped and it is policed in a proper manner.