Amarante massacre
On April 16, 1997, the Meia Culpa bar in Amarante, Portugal, was the scene of a deadly arson attack. Three masked men forced customers and staff to the walls, doused the bar with gasoline, and set it on fire. Thirteen people died. The crime was masterminded by the owner of a rival bar, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison—the maximum under Portuguese law. The three attackers and an intermediary also received 25-year sentences. In April 2017, reports said Ricardo Rocha, 43, one of the five people given the maximum sentence in the Meia Culpa case, would be released on April 24, 2017. He was the second-to-last defendant to be granted parole from Paços de Ferreira prison.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 14:10 (CET).