ISSUE NO. 1683
5 - 11 October 2017
COSTA DE ALMERÍA
YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION Abusos Urbanisticos Almanzora-No
Pig crushers now on trial TWO farm workers who crushed 79 piglets to death by belly-flopping and stamping on them go on trial today (Thursday). Prosecutors want prison sentences of 18 and 24 months for the two young men, who shared video footage of the massacre on social media. The incident took place at a Huercal-Overa pig farm and made headlines around the world. They trapped the piglets in a confined passageway where one began launching himself at the animals. His colleague filmed the assault on his mobile phone and later broadcast it on WhatsApp.
Teen’s train ‘trauma’ A JUDGE threw out a case against a mother accused of abandoning her child. The Almeria mother sent her teenage son alone on a train to France to return to his father. The father brought a private prosecution against the mother, accusing her of temporarily abandoning a child aged under 15. Prosecutors wanted her jailed for two years but the judge at Almeria’s criminal court said evidence that the child had been ‘abandoned’ was flimsy.
DEFIANT: Len and Helen Prior (centre).
No end in sight Priors’ heartbreak goes on By Matt Ford A British couple who lived in a garage for four-and-a-half years after their Almeria home was demolished have suffered a fresh setback. After Len and Helen Prior, both in their early 70’s, last year won a court battle entitling them to €425,185 in compensation, the Andalucian High Court of Justice has now ruled that they will receive just over half that amount. Vera Council must now pay €220,433 to the pair after appealing the initial decision as a nine-year legal battle drags on.
The Priors’ story made international headlines after their home was bulldozed in 2008 over ‘planning irregularities’ although the couple insist the build was legal. They had initially requested €800,000 which included a €200,000 emotional damages claim, but the latter was reduced to less than €10,000. Gerardo Vazquez, lawyer and spokesperson for the Abusos Urbanisticos AlmanzoraNo campaign group, which has been helping the Priors through their ordeal, said: “I hope their ordeal ends soon because they are good people and don’t deserve this constant stream of bad news.”
WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM
Deep in the weed TOGETHER the plants weighed almost 300 kilos, with many being over a metre and a half high. The raid took place in Enix, Almeria in the small Barranco de Gatos neighbourhood. Police investigating an illegal irrigation set up sensed the tell-tale smell of marihuana in the air and began a closer inspection. They uncovered a fullscale outdoor plantation employing a sophisticated drip irrigation system. There were even invoices for the irrigation material and detailed log books with sales records and growing schedules.