Six bouncers suspended from duty; two Britons hospitalised
Six nightclub bouncers (security guards) have been suspended from duty – as well as arrested – following two separate assaults on British tourists in the Cais do Sodré area in Lisbon.
The assaults took place in the same nightclub* on April 20 and 27, but the bouncers were only arrested on May 7, according to a note released today by the PSP Lisbon Metropolitan Command (Cometlis). They are aged between 25 and 48, said the note, explaining that the first incident involved five British tourists who were “prevented by the bouncers from entering the nightclub.
“After a brief dialogue between the tourist and the bouncers, one of the bouncers punched one of the tourists in the face and then five or six other individuals attacked the group of five friends with several punches and kicks,” says the note.
One of the victims was left with “bruises and abrasions all over his body and the second fractured his tibia and fibula and was hospitalised (where he) underwent orthopaedic and maxillofacial surgery”, and is still in hospital today, two weeks after the attack.
The second incident took place inside the same establishment (a week later) and involved two British customers.
According to the PSP, the fracas started after the bouncers “demanded that the two tourists pay €30 euros, claiming this was the minimum consumption” allowed in the nightclub.
“Both refused to pay what was demanded of them, explaining that they had only had one beer and that no one had explained the minimum consumption to them when they handed over their cards at the entrance to the nightclub.
“Following this exchange of words, which was always in English, three bouncers who were there surrounded the victims and started punching one of them,” the note continues.
“Both victims suffered bruises and abrasions to the face and head and one of them suffered a fractured arm and was hospitalised (where he) underwent surgery.”
At this point Portugalpulse.com adds truly horrific detail, explaining that when the two friends refused to pay, “three security guards surrounded and assaulted one of the men, putting him in a chokehold and throwing him to the ground.
“The man was then forcibly taken to the payment area and made to pay the €30 using his bank card.
“The other friend, upon returning from the restroom, was punched in the face by another security guard, causing him to fall. He was then lifted and restrained by two guards and similarly forced to pay.
“While at the payment area, this victim was ‘restrained with a key lock’ by a guard who also struck him with an elbow and forced his head against the counter multiple times.
“After securing the payments, the guards pushed the victims out of the club”, which Portugalpulse names as *Lisboa Rio.
The details of the attacks are backed by the PSP statement, which did not however go into the intricacies of the type of violence involved, nor name the nightspot.
The arrested bouncers have already been brought before a court for the application of bail measures; they are subject to regular presentations at their local police stations, and banned from working as ‘nightclub security guards’.
This is by no means the first ‘incident’ of extreme violence in nightlife areas involving ‘bouncers’.
Portugalpulse refers to the PSP highlighting “extreme violence” in nightlife areas” leading to severe injuries that undermine victims’ “work capacity” and significantly impact their “personal, professional, and financial lives.”
Source: PSP/ Portugalpulse
