Rowdy Brits deported for sparking riot
(China Daily)
Updated: 2004-06-18 07:07

Eleven Britons and a Russian were being deported from Portugal on Wednesday after riots in the coastal town of Albufeira, and one Briton will serve a two-year jail sentence in his home country.

Ten Britons were being deported voluntarily, judge Filipe Marques said after an 11-hour hearing, and seven of them received suspended sentences.

Another was sentenced to two years in prison for riotous behaviour and inciting a riot, which would be served in Britain.

"I wasn't even there, it's a stitch-up," he yelled after sentence was passed.

The other Briton and a Portuguese detained by police on Tuesday morning were set free.

The 14, who all denied the charges, were brought to court in handcuffs after being arrested on Tuesday morning when about 200 people ran riot in this popular resort.

Thousands of English soccer fans are in Portugal for the three-week Euro 2004 tournament and Albufeira is the centre for English tourists on the Algarve coast.

The Russian had a broken arm in plaster and all the defendants appeared dazed and grubby after two nights in police cells. One of the Britons had a black eye and cut face, and he told the court he had broken two ribs.

The judge asked each defendant, whose ages ranged from 19 to 46, if they were willing to be deported voluntarily.

He gave them the option of remaining for the outcome of a trial. They said they did not want to be handed over for deportation before hearing the evidence.