Barcelona, Spain - Authorities in the north-eastern Spanish region of Catalonia on Wednesday suspended from office five police officers who were found guilty of torturing a suspect.

A Barcelona court on Tuesday sentenced three of the officers to six years and seven months in prison. A fourth officer was given two years and three months, and a fifth was finen 2,400 euros (3,100 dollars).

The three had detained a Romanian immigrant whom they mistook for a robber in 2006.

They beat the man on the street and at the police station, put a pistol in his mouth to force him to confess, threatened to kill him and stripped him, the court said.

The officers also arrested the suspect's pregnant girlfriend, pulling her hair and telling her lies about the man to make her talk.

Catalan regional Interior Minister Joan Saura described the case as "absolutely isolated." (dpa)