A FIRE that is believed to have been started deliberately on Tuesday morning of this week, destroyed paperwork relating to around a dozen cases, that were being stored at Tavira court house.
The files were being kept in a cell, the window to which was found broken. Jorge Domingos, Comandant of Tavira Bombeiros told the media; “Normally, the cell is used for defendants awaiting judgement in certain criminal cases, but due to the refurbishment works currently being carried out at the court, it was being used to store some paperwork.”
According to the same source; “There was a tube found extended between the window and the location of the files, and a strong smell of petrol was noticed.”
The fire chief told the media that he was not aware what type of files were burned or whether or not they related to active cases.
When the firefighters arrived at the scene, a little before 8am, the fire had already been put out by some policemen using extinguishers.
The head judge at Tavira Court, Ana Mónica Pavão, issued a statement saying that she was not aware which case files had been destroyed, but emphasised the fact that they were inactive files that did not relate to current cases.
“Only the cover of some files were burnt and I saw that they were spread out on the floor, some in ashes, others just black,” she explained.
The case is currently being investigated by Faro Polícia Judiciária.
