# can i return to spain



## darkling (Jun 23, 2012)

Hi, I was arrested in spain in 1995 for assault after a problem with some spanish lads. I was kept in the police station for about 20 hours i think. I was released and was given a paper saying to attend either back to the police or court in about 4 weeks time. I left spain and have never been back. How do i find out if i can revisit Spain again. Would like to come back but not at the exspense of being arrested. Hope some one can help.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

darkling said:


> Hi, I was arrested in spain in 1995 for assault after a problem with some spanish lads. I was kept in the police station for about 20 hours i think. I was released and was given a paper saying to attend either back to the police or court in about 4 weeks time. I left spain and have never been back. How do i find out if i can revisit Spain again. Would like to come back but not at the exspense of being arrested. Hope some one can help.


Oh dear....but I can't think of any way that someone other than yourself would be able to find out what would happen to you were you to return.

And there's only one way to do that...


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## darkling (Jun 23, 2012)

mrypg9 said:


> Oh dear....but I can't think of any way that someone other than yourself would be able to find out what would happen to you were you to return.
> 
> And there's only one way to do that...


Thanks for your really helpful reply. Enough said.:focus:


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

darkling said:


> Thanks for your really helpful reply. Enough said.:focus:


she might well be right - & there's no need for that attitude

three other possible ways

1 - put your name, the word BOLETÍN, the town & the year it happened into google & see what comes up

2 - contact the police station where you were held yourself

3 - engage a Spanish lawyer to do 1 & 2 for you

I suspect a Spanish lawyer would recommend that you return & face the music (although there might some time limit on this - I don't know) - after all, you did abscond & evade justice


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

darkling said:


> Thanks for your really helpful reply. Enough said.:focus:


Is that the attitude that got you into the fight?

That was a helpful reply, if you think about it. What would happen in a similar situation in the UK? I should imagine a warrant would be issued for your arrest. Depending of course on the seriousness of the charge: ABH, GBH, affray etc.

So isn't it likely that it would be the same in Spain? I doubt that the system is sufficiently sophisticated for you to be seized and locked up at passport control, though....but then you never know in these days of thorough border checks.


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## agua642 (May 24, 2009)

Go somewhere else

Sent from my iPhone using ExpatForum


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Hmmmm ...

British man faces extradition to Portugal | Law | The Guardian


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## Solwriter (Jan 10, 2012)

Alcalaina said:


> Hmmmm ...
> 
> British man faces extradition to Portugal | Law | The Guardian


Hmmmm ... is exactly my reaction to that one too.
Wouldn't like to comment any further at this time...

An off-topic aside....
In a similar vein, I have noticed that Spain have asked Google to block from their search engine certain older sites, where public and private figures have something in their past which keeps appearing afresh again and again because of links from other web pages.
Google has refused to comply with Spain's wishes.

But... :focus:


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## djfwells (Sep 28, 2009)

Stay wherever you are and please don't come back to Spain. 
It is people like you who have given so many British Expats and Tourists a bad name.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

djfwells said:


> Stay wherever you are and please don't come back to Spain.
> It is people like you who have given so many British Expats and Tourists a bad name.


Whilst agreeing in principle - far too many British immigrants here who like their counterparts in the UK are less than desirable...

The offence was committed seventeen years ago and the OP has had the opportunity to mature and keep his aggressive impulses under control..


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## darkling (Jun 23, 2012)

mrypg9 said:


> Whilst agreeing in principle - far too many British immigrants here who like their counterparts in the UK are less than desirable...
> 
> The offence was committed seventeen years ago and the OP has had the opportunity to mature and keep his aggressive impulses under control..


Perhaps i wasnt clear enough when i posted the thread. I said i was arrested for assault but did not state what happened, hence the must be guilty brigade putting me down as some sort of loud brash drunken english hooligan spoiling for fights. However this is far from the truth. Iwas driving a hire car when a car in front stopped late at night in a very narrow street in fuengarola. I flashed my lights for them to move on which they didnt. So i peeped my horn and flashed my lights again, The four doors of their car all opened and four what i thought were spanish youths approached my car all their doors were left wide open and one of them tried to open my drivers door, I pressed the button down when they started to approach my car. I did not understand what they were shouting but then one punched the side window of my hire car. This seemed to start all of them off and they started to kick at the car. In my haste to get away i drove up the pavement hit one of their car doors and one of them jumped on the bonnet of my hire car and was trying to punch the windscreen in i just carried on driving as i was very frightened he fell from the car and i carried on back to my apartment. I was extremely frightened in a strange country being attacked like that. I went to the local police station early in the morning where they arrested me for assault on the guy who had fallen from the boinnet of my car. The hire car people came and showed the police all the footprints and dents where they had been kicking the car. I was held for several hours and interviewed then i was released and given a piece of paper from the police a cant remember what it said but only know that i was the one attacked and i was the one being held for assault. I think it may have been bail of some kind but they did not take my passport so i left straight away. Thats it basically.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

darkling said:


> Perhaps i wasnt clear enough when i posted the thread. I said i was arrested for assault but did not state what happened, hence the must be guilty brigade putting me down as some sort of loud brash drunken english hooligan spoiling for fights. However this is far from the truth. Iwas driving a hire car when a car in front stopped late at night in a very narrow street in fuengarola. I flashed my lights for them to move on which they didnt. So i peeped my horn and flashed my lights again, The four doors of their car all opened and four what i thought were spanish youths approached my car all their doors were left wide open and one of them tried to open my drivers door, I pressed the button down when they started to approach my car. I did not understand what they were shouting but then one punched the side window of my hire car. This seemed to start all of them off and they started to kick at the car. In my haste to get away i drove up the pavement hit one of their car doors and one of them jumped on the bonnet of my hire car and was trying to punch the windscreen in i just carried on driving as i was very frightened he fell from the car and i carried on back to my apartment. I was extremely frightened in a strange country being attacked like that. I went to the local police station early in the morning where they arrested me for assault on the guy who had fallen from the boinnet of my car. The hire car people came and showed the police all the footprints and dents where they had been kicking the car. I was held for several hours and interviewed then i was released and given a piece of paper from the police a cant remember what it said but only know that i was the one attacked and i was the one being held for assault. I think it may have been bail of some kind but they did not take my passport so i left straight away. Thats it basically.


The alleged facts arent important. What matters is that you have asked what would happen if you return to Spain and the answer is you need to either ask the british embassy in Spain or to go there and see. No one here can really categorically say for sure

Jo xxx


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

jojo said:


> The alleged facts arent important. What matters is that you have asked what would happen if you return to Spain and the answer is you need to either ask the british embassy in Spain or to go there and see. No one here can really categorically say for sure
> 
> Jo xxx


exactly - he was arrested & given a court date - and failed to appear, so at the very least he jumped bail...........

& although it isn't official - here in Spain you are pretty much guilty until you prove you are innocent


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## darkling (Jun 23, 2012)

jojo said:


> The alleged facts arent important. What matters is that you have asked what would happen if you return to Spain and the answer is you need to either ask the british embassy in Spain or to go there and see. No one here can really categorically say for sure
> 
> Jo xxx


Thank you for your sensible reply rather than the ones hanging me without knowing what happened thats why my original thread was like it was.
I know it was 17 years ago and i was thinking i would like to return for a holiday.
maybe i was asking in the wrong place. Thanks again though. regards paul


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

darkling said:


> Thank you for your sensible reply rather than the ones hanging me without knowing what happened thats why my original thread was like it was.
> I know it was 17 years ago and i was thinking i would like to return for a holiday.
> maybe i was asking in the wrong place. Thanks again though. regards paul


did you read my first post on the thread?

I gave you several options - any or all of which would likely give you some idea at least


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## Solwriter (Jan 10, 2012)

Hi Darkling,
It's a shame you felt you had to give an explanation of what happened, but I understand why.
However, as others have said, what happened isn't important in answering your question. What is relevant is the fact that you left the country when you had been informed you had to appear in court.

Personally, if I was you I would not return to Spain. 
Miscarriages of justice can and do happen in any country, so why test whether or not this is likely to be the case for you, when you can holiday somewhere else?


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## darkling (Jun 23, 2012)

xabiachica said:


> did you read my first post on the thread?
> 
> I gave you several options - any or all of which would likely give you some idea at least


Thanks I tried the google option so far, and nothing on there. 
i dont know if i will dare to return as i have a young family now who need their Dad. Thanks everyone.


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## darkling (Jun 23, 2012)

Solwriter said:


> Hi Darkling,
> It's a shame you felt you had to give an explanation of what happened, but I understand why.
> However, as others have said, what happened isn't important in answering your question. What is relevant is the fact that you left the country when you had been informed you had to appear in court.
> 
> ...


Thanks I didn't want to explain what had happened but like so many forum sites there are lots of assumptions made and were being made on this thread.
You could be right France is nice also. Thanks and regards


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## XTreme (May 17, 2008)

Paul....my suspicion is you'd get your collar felt! 

When the law pull you to check the car they always run a check to see whether you're on the "most wanted" list. Amazing none of these corrupt officials within the system seem to get put on there....but that's the way it is.

I suspected the circumstances would be similar to the situation you found yourself in.......it wouldn't be the first time it happened. And your assumption at the time that you would not get fair treatment had you returned is probably not far wrong.

So my advice is steer clear....you may be OK, but it's just not worth the risk.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

darkling said:


> Thank you for your sensible reply rather than the ones hanging me without knowing what happened thats why my original thread was like it was.
> I know it was 17 years ago and i was thinking i would like to return for a holiday.
> maybe i was asking in the wrong place. Thanks again though. regards paul


Your original post was so vague that one could be forgiven for assuming that you were involved in some kind of assault or affray. After all, very many young British males do get caught up in that kind of thing.

As far as I can see, no-one accused you of being a drunken thug...I certainly didn't - but the tone of your reply wasn't helpful, was it...

Now it's clear that you were caught up in something you didn't instigate....I can see how easy it is to get into that kind of situation and I would probably have reacted in the same way as you.

To be honest, I just wouldn't risk returning. The way these things work, paedophiles and genuinely violent people seem able to enter Spain -and the UK - quite easily whereas it's sod's law that someone like you would be apprehended.
You have a family and it's not worth the risk.

Have you thought of somewhere like Turkey or even the Polish Baltic coast for a family-friendly holiday?


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## 1questxx (Jun 29, 2012)

It doesn't sound good but everyone has done stupid things in their youth and given that it happened 17 years ago I don't think it is right to be judgemental.

I don't know if is there any way for the Spanish authorities to learn from your arrival on Spanish soil but I would imagine that your name is in some kind of wanted list since you ignored the police instructions to go to court, probably it was bail, and if the police stops you on a car to ask for your driving license they could flag your name and arrest you to take you to court so that you can explain what happened back then.

But Spanish justice is very very slow, it could take years to take everything to trial, and after 17 years the affected parts and witnesses have probably vanished, I think that you would probably walk away free from court the same day after 24 hours on a police cell. If there is no evidence against you the case would never go to trial and it would be closed due to lack of evidence.

It all goes down to find out if the case will be closed or the judge decides that there is evidence that a criminal action took place and you should stand trial, and since you already jumped bail once and have no residence or links in Spain the judge would likely decide not to make that mistake again. Knowing you the case better than me, I would asses what witnesses are still around to testify against you or in your favour.


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