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An internationally known lawyer was hospitalised in Portugal after being attacked by police and bouncers on a night of partying.
The lawyer from Marbella was taken to Alicante for treatment following the attack in Lagos.
The head of a well-established law firm was attacked in the early hours following his violent ejection from a pub. He decided then to make a complaint with the local police.
The Law Society member, who grew up on the Costa del Sol, told the Olive Press he was ‘completely shocked’ to be beaten up for ‘absolutely no reason’.
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The father-of-two had been having a ‘quiet g&t’ with an Irish guy, who was also on holiday.
He said, “One minute, I was at the pub chatting with Matt and the next, I was picked up by the police and ejected without reason.”
“It was very violent and without warning, and I ended on the floor.”
It was at this point that the situation took a darker turn.
He could see four policemen in the square as he got up.
He immediately went over to them and explained what happened in the bar called Bon Vivant. He wanted to make a formal statement.
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“I said: ‘I’m a lawyer and it was not acceptable behaviour from the bar staff.
“But they just said ‘go away, go home’ and then suddenly this one guy pushed me away violently, in fact pushed me over, before taking me down a side street.
It was brutal. I was hit on the head, and I fell. “It was really shocking. I thought I wouldn’t get out of it.”
He managed to escape and circled the square again a few minutes later to take photos of the police and doormen.
He decided to return to the hotel where he and his two children were staying.
“I was attacked again when I decided to take the longer route back via the central park, Jardin de la Constitucion.”
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He said: “These people literally came up behind me and jumped on my back.
They put me in headlocks and began strangling. They wanted to put my sleep.
Somehow he managed to fight them off and believes he nearly passed out and was ‘very dazed’.
“I was beaten up badly, but it wasn’t a mugging because I had my wallet, phone, and watch on me.”
He added: “I have no doubt it was the police, bouncers or both who did it.
A Good Samaritan offered to pick him up, and take him to his local health center, where he treated him for possible broken arms, bruising and cuts.
So worried was he of the ramifications he sent a series of over two dozen messages to the Olive Press ‘for security’ as he made his way to hospital.
Along with sending pictures of his bruised and cut face, he also sent a number of dramatic voice messages.
In one of them, he states simply: “I feel really frightened.” I have no idea what happened or who did it. “I need to have this in the media.”
The lawyer who has worked in a UK law firm for many years now has filed a formal complaint about the Algarve.
He then filed a complaint at the Policia Judiciary Headquarters in Portimao, after consulting an official judicial medical doctor.
We have now established the Lagos Public Prosecutors office to handle this case.
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The Olive Press found claims of at minimum three violent incidents that occurred at the Bon Vivant in the past month.
At least two punters claim to have been attacked with ‘pepper spray’ by bouncers, while a woman, Ines Paredes, claims she was recently ‘kicked out by the neck’.
She added, “He almost struck me,” in a post last month on Google.
Perhaps more sinisterly in a town, where police have an extremely chequered reputation, there are claims of a girl being ‘undressed’ by a staff member.
Maria Rita posted on Google: “Let’s make it clear.” This was a man who was over 40 and pulled on a young girl’s dress for 40 seconds or more.
“She undressed herself in front of everyone on the floor.” It was shocking and he refused to deny it when I confronted. Instead, he said: ‘She was asking for it.’
“I immediately reported the incident to the security and manager…But they dismissed the incident as nothing more than a ‘joke in poor taste'”.
She went on to say: “Minutes afterwards, we saw the aggressor outside, casually chatting away with the security staff that we had reported the event to.”
All the incidents, including this, were rebuffed by the club’s ‘bar manager’ Marco Monteiro on Google.
In particular he claimed Rita’s claims were ‘distorted’ and there was ‘no basis’ in what she wrote.
However, a local expat restaurant owner, who knows the town well, told the Olive Press he had heard of ‘a few unprovoked incidents’ similar to this.
“But I don’t know anyone so it would best to go to police and hear what they say.”
What will happen next is uncertain, but he knows one thing for sure.
“The police’s job is to protect public safety,” he explained, back at home in Marbella.
“It’s really important that the courts properly deal with incidents such as this, and especially Bon Vivant. I’ve read all of the negative reports.
I fear that if they do not, the cases could get much worse in the coming months.
When the Olive Press visited the club, a barman insisted he couldn’t ‘recall any incidents like that’.
He told us that the owner has not responded.
When the Olive Press visited the club, a barman insisted he couldn’t ‘recall any incidents like that’. Marco, the manager of the club, did not return calls or messages sent via whatsapp.
A police source confirmed the incident to the Olive Press and said the ‘case is being dealt with by the Lagos prosecutors’.
Click here to read more Crime & Law News from The Olive Press.
