Further arrests are expected to be made.

Further arrests are expected to be made.

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma30/10/2015 00:00
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Around thirty witnesses who have given evidence in the case of alleged local police corruption in Palma have been given special protection against risks of reprisals or pressure by officers and businesspeople under investigation. There is particular concern that these witnesses might be “got at” and pressurised into changing statements that have been made to the court or to police.

Although the investigation is subject to a gagging order, the two judges working on the case have adopted this measure in order to protect women who worked in various clubs and who were the ones who revealed that orgies involving politicians and police officers had taken place. These women are in a particularly vulnerable situation. They are foreign and frightened by the possibility of reprisals, including physical violence, by owners. Likewise, bar and club owners on the Paseo Marítimo and in the Gomila district are also being given special protection.

One of the judges has stated that “the victims are frankly terrified by what might be done not just by those who have been arrested but also by other members of the Green Patrol who are at liberty as well as by others - in political and administrative functions - who form part of the criminal network”. It was precisely the fear of reprisals that was one of the reasons for sending six of the nine officers who were arrested last weekend to prison. Among other witnesses, it has been revealed, are police officers.