Members of the Hells Angels motorcycle club were indicted for attempting to kill four people and injuring others with knives, axes and batons at a restaurant in Lisbon. The gang was banned by the Netherlands in May.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Steffen
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Portuguese prosecutors charged 89 members of Hells Angels biker gangs with involvement in organized crime, attempted murder, robbery and drug trafficking. The bikers were also charged with qualified extortion and possession of illegal weapons and ammunition.
"According to the indictment, the accused belong to the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club," said the chief prosecutor's statement.
Dozens of the group's members from Portugal and other countries have been arrested following a long investigation.
Out of the 89 members charged by Portugal, 37 are in pre-trial detention, five are under house arrest, and two are detained in Germany awaiting extradition to Portugal, the prosecutors said.
Prosecutors allege that the gang's members tried to kill four people and seriously injured others last year at a restaurant on the outskirts of Portugal's capital, Lisbon. The restaurant was destroyed in the Hells Angels attack.
In September 2017, four Hells Angels bikers went on trial in Leipzig over a 2016 murder of a biker from a rival gangImage: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Weihrauch
At the time of the restaurant attack, the Hell Angels was involved in a gang war for control of illicit guns and drug trade, according to authorities.
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is a worldwide group whose members are typically male and white and ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. The club was formed in the United States in 1948. The United States Department of Justice regards them as an international crime syndicate.
Violent clashes among biker factions and biker-related crimes are relatively common in Germany, which has over 70 Hells Angels charters. In NRW, members of the world's best-known motorcycle club have a history of bloody rivalry with the Bandidos, another international biker association.
Two members of the Bandidos motorcycle gang sued because they weren't allowed to wear their club's jackets after some local chapters of their gang had been banned.
Image: Getty Images/S. Gallup
'Fat Mexican' not welcome
The "Fat Mexican," the trademark of the Bandidos motorcycle club, stands for trouble. A chapter was banned from the western German city of Aachen due to violence and illegal gun ownership in 2012. It followed a ban of the Neumünster group in 2010. But does that mean members of other chapters are not allowed to wear club jackets in public? Germany's Federal Court of Justice is set to decide.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Becker
A fight against a fine
Two Bandidos in Germany took their case to the courts after being fined for wearing club vests - despite the fact that their local chapters had not been banned and had not broken any laws. Members of the Hells Angels, the other large motorcycle club in Germany, have found themselves in the same situation.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Kraufmann
The dreaded winged death head
Displaying the Hells Angels' signature winged skull, the "death head," in public, can lead to criminal charges - that's despite only certain chapters of this club being banned in Germany. The rational behind this is that authorities don't want people flaunting symbols for a gang that is involved in violent and illegal activities.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/E. von Erichsen
More than a piece of clothing
Should the court sustain a general ban, it would be a punch to the gut of clubs like the Bandidos and the Hells Angels. After all, the leather vest with club insignia is part of a member's identity and a badge of honor. Insiders can even tell what status a member holds in his group by looking at the different patches on the vest.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Hannibal
A means of intimidation
For the police, the jackets have less romanticized connotations. Authorities associate the leather vests with intimidation and illegal activities. In 2013, Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office said one in eight trials was connected to motorcycle clubs. Crimes included assault, drug and weapons trafficking and prostitution.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J.W. Alker
Illegal insignia?
Opponents of a general ban of the vests criticize its underlying concept of guilt by association. A German criminal law professor recently wrote that the policy of "persecution" of members of non-banned chapters urgently needed to be changed. Whether wearing the "Fat Mexican" or a winged skull is reason enough to be taken in by police will be decided on Thursday.
