Violent British tourist banned from Spain for 7 years
The holidaymaker viciously attacked three police officers at Alicante Airport
A British man has been banned from entering Spain for seven years and slapped with a 54,540-euro fine for assaulting three National Police officers at Alicante-Elche airport in 2022.
The court heard that the holidaymaker became violent when officers approached him at border control, hitting out and spitting at the agents. So brutal was the attack that one officer required surgery for his injuries.
Originally, the court agreed to sentence the Briton to two years in prison but this has been replaced with an expulsion order from Spain.
But not everyone is happy with this outcome.
"Despite the overwhelming nature of the facts, the sentence imposed was two years in prison, replaced by expulsion from Spain, which once again demonstrates the lack of forcefulness of the judicial system in the face of attacks on police officers," criticised a spokesperson for JUPOL, the majority union of the National Police.
The union has expressed its "deepest concern about the constant increase in attacks on officers in the exercise of their duties and the lack of protection we suffer from this type of crime."
JUPOL says that they are "unprotected" and that attacks on officers are not isolated incidents, but rather "a worrying trend that increases year after year."
While it’s unclear whether the man had consumed alcohol prior to the attack, drink-related incidents both on board flights and in airports are on the rise. Ryanair recently renewed its demand that an EU-wide law be enacted which would limit the amount of booze passengers can be served at airport bars.
Image: CybJubal via Wikimedia Commons
Sign up for the Spanish News Today Editors Roundup Weekly Bulletin and get an email with all the week’s news straight to your inbox
Special offer: Subscribe now for 25% off (36.95 euros for 48 Bulletins)
OR
you can sign up to our FREE weekly roundup!
Read some of our recent bulletins:
25% Discount Special Offer subscription:
36.95€ for 48 Editor’s Weekly News Roundup bulletins!
Please CLICK THE BUTTON to subscribe.
(List price 3 months 12 Bulletins)
Read more stories from around Spain:
