Spain has not yet filed a European arrest warrant for the eight Dutch men it suspects of causing the death of a 27-year-old man from Waddinxveen during an unprovoked attack on the island of Majorca last week.

All but one of  men, reportedly from the wealthy Gooi area south of Amsterdam, left the island in a hurry after the attack, which was captured on surveillance cameras. One, who remained to hand in the key to their rental villa, was arrested but has since been released after he was shown not to have been involved.

The reason why the European arrest warrant is slow in coming has to do with ‘Spanish bureaucracy’, Spanish correspondent Rob Zoutberg told broadcaster NOS.

The fact that the men left in haste after the event also complicated matters, he said, because it means the Guardia Civil has to issue a European warrant and that is a very precise process.

‘Every man in the video footage retrieved by police has to be identified separately and police have to describe exactly what they stand accused of and what their role has been in this. They can’t afford to make mistakes.’

The Dutch prosecution office has also started an investigation into the matter but has said the initiative lies with the Spanish judicial authorities.

Lawyer Bob Kaarls, who is an expert in Spanish court cases, said the decision of the Dutch prosecution office came as a surprise. ‘The case is a Spanish one, the Spanish are investigating and the identification of the suspects takes place there,’ NOS quotes him as saying.

He said the Dutch are not likely to ask Spain to take over the case. ‘Spain will put them on trial,’ he said, adding that the main suspects can expect ‘hefty sentences’ if found guilty.