British Uncle and Nephew Sue Andorra for €Tens of Thousands After 14-Month Detention on Acquitted Rape Charges

Two British relatives, an uncle and nephew, have filed a civil lawsuit against the Andorran state seeking substantial compensation for the 14 months they spent detained in La Comella prison before their acquittal on group rape charges.

The men, UK residents, travelled to Andorra in January 2024 for a short leisure trip with others. They initially stayed at a Pas de la Casa hotel, where the alleged incident occurred with a temporary worker. Courts later deemed the encounter consensual, involving only the 26-year-old nephew, while the uncle denied any intimate contact. Investigators grew suspicious after the pair discreetly left that hotel overnight and moved to another in Soldeu. Police arrested them there, and prosecutors sought eight-year sentences for each on rape counts, plus additional months for the nephew's admitted cocaine use.

They remained in custody until their March 2024 trial at the Tribunal de Corts. The judges cited repeated inconsistencies in the alleged victim's statements and a lack of conclusive evidence, acquitting them on 21 March and releasing them without restrictions. Both the Tribunal de Corts ruling and the Tribunal Superior's penal chamber later upheld the acquittals due to reasonable doubt.

One year after their release, with the Tribunal Superior having confirmed the outcome, the men—now rebuilding their lives in the UK—argue that Andorran judicial processes failed catastrophically. They claim the presumption of innocence was ignored despite early doubts, and pretrial measures such as supervised release were not properly considered. The lawsuit, for damages in the tens of thousands of euros, will be heard by the full Tribunal Superior plenum, where further details of their grievances will emerge.