Fears for Brits in Spain this summer: Costa del Sol holidaymakers are warned not to find themselves on wrong side of heavy-handed Spanish police after expat was beaten to a pulp and N Dubz’ Dappy clashed with baton-wielding cops in Ibiza
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British tourists are being warned to avoid upsetting heavy-handed police in Spain this summer following a number of alleged violent encounters.
An expat living near Marbella on the Costa del Sol is sounding the alarm after claiming he was beaten so savagely by cops that he was hospitalised with a punctured bladder.
It comes after N Dubz’s Dappy was left with a huge swelling on his back when he clashed with baton-wielding police officers on the Spanish party island of Ibiza earlier this month.
Now, in an alarming alleged attack, Diego Armando Torres, 37, insists he was punched and kicked by six Guardia Civil agents on a Friday night, after being pulled over for a routine traffic stop.
Even more shocking, he claims he was tied up and a plastic bag was put over his head nearly suffocating him, before being left overnight in a cell while writhing in agony from his injuries.
Diego Armando Torres, 37, insists he was punched and kicked by six Guardia Civil agents on a Friday night, after being pulled over for a routine traffic stop (Pictured: Mr Torres’ facial injuries following alleged attack by police)
A resident (pictured in hospital) living near Marbella on the Costa del Sol is sounding the alarm after claiming he was beaten so savagely by cops that he was hospitalised with a punctured bladder
READ MORE: N Dubz rapper Dappy in ‘clash’ with truncheon-wielding police on Ibiza after blasting out his new song on Lamborghini sound system parked on a busy street
Dappy posted a picture of one of his friends who appears to have a giant baton-shaped mark on his back
‘I actually feared for my life, particularly when one officer told me ”you’re going to die”,’ he told MailOnline this week.
The expat builder, from Peru, had only recently arrived to the country when he and a friend were driving back from the popular resort town of Estepona following an evening out.
Have you had run-ins with Spanish police? Email me: [email protected]
At around 9.15pm on June 16, Mr Torres says he was pulled over on the motorway near expat hotspot Sabinillas.
He recalled: ‘They stopped us and asked my mate to step out of the car. I initially stayed in the passenger’s seat, but then got out to ask what was going on.
‘The agents told me to be quiet and not to speak, but I asked again if everything was okay. The police are now saying that I used force and kicked one of them, but this is not true.
‘Suddenly they snapped and forced me to the ground and I was handcuffed and taken to a police car.’
His friend, from Bolivia, who asked to remain anonymous, confirmed the heavy-handed arrest.
‘But when I dared ask a policeman why they were doing it, he replied; ”do you also want to get hit?”
‘Diego was put in a car and that was the last time I saw him that day,’ explained his friend, who is also a builder.
The victim claims he was then taken to the Guardia Civil barracks in Manilva where he was grilled on what he was doing in Spain.
‘I was very scared and just wanted to call someone,’ he said.
‘Eventually they agreed but as I left my phone in the car I couldn’t remember any numbers apart from my brother’s, who lives in Norway, and they refused to call a foreign number.’
It was then that a couple of the officers allegedly began slapping him in the face and telling him to ‘shut up’.
‘I remember there were up to six of them taking turns to slap me,’ he claimed.
‘After a while they took me back to the car. I was terrified and I started screaming for help. Then, one of the officers punched me in the face through the open window, cutting open my left eyebrow.’
At this point the attack got far more sinister, he claims, after the police took him back to a different smaller and darker room at the station.
Mr Torres (pictured recovering in hospital in Marbella) had only recently arrived to the country when he and a friend were driving back from the popular resort town of Estepona following an evening out
Disturbing pictures appear to show cuts and bruises caused by handcuffs placed on Mr Torres by Guardia Civil officers
Recounting his alleged ordeal, Mr Torres said: ‘Suddenly they snapped and forced me to the ground and I was handcuffed and taken to a police car’
‘They tied my ankles and wrists together, covered my head with a plastic bag and started punching and kicking me on the stomach,’ he claims.
‘When I was about to asphyxiate, they would remove the bag then put it back on. They did this many times. An officer also stepped on my head, causing me injuries and bruises.
‘They kicked and punched me in the stomach until I passed out from the pain.
‘The worst ones were, I estimate, in their 30s and 40s, while two younger agents, probably in their 20s, did not do anything and actually tried to comfort me.’
After the alleged brutal assault, Mr Torres (pictured) claims he was taken to the Policia Local Station in Estepona, where he was put in a cell and fell asleep, but woke up around 3am with agonising stomach pain.
Despite begging to go to hospital it wasn’t until 9.20am that three Guardia agents returned and took him to a GP in Estepona, where the doctor told the officers he had to be taken to hospital urgently.
He was taken to Marbella’s Costa del Sol Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery on a ‘ruptured bladder’.
After the alleged brutal assault, Mr Torres (pictured) claims he was taken to the Policia Local Station in Estepona, where he was put in a cell and fell asleep, but woke up around 3am with agonising stomach pain.
Despite begging to go to hospital it wasn’t until 9.20am that three Guardia agents returned and took Mr Torres to a GP in Estepona, where the doctor told the officers he had to be taken to hospital urgently (Pictured: Mr Torres’s scraped wrists after being placed in handcuffs)
He also ‘presented bruises on the head and face’ according to the official medical report seen by expat newspaper the Olive Press.
Diego has since taken legal advice and is currently waiting to hear back from a public defender to file an official complaint.
A Guardia Civil official report claims Diego was arrested for kicking one of the agents, which he vehemently denies.
Leading Marbella lawyer Antonio Flores, described the case as ‘an atrocity’.
‘If proved, this would be an atrocity. First, these officers should be given a precautionary suspension and then tried for assault and abuse of authority,’ he insisted.
A spokesman for Spain’s Ombudsman added: ‘If he has been beaten up, he needs to file a report and the justice system will do its job.’
A Guardia Civil press officer said: ‘I don’t know if this is true or not, but it sounds strange to me.
‘I have been a Guardia Civil for 30 years and I have never seen anything like this. It sounds like a science fiction movie.
‘Once he files a complaint, this will go to court and a judge will decide.’
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