Metabolic Rifts Porto
Boaventura tried to prevent the victims from speaking out, but the Coimbra Court rejected the decision. Sociologist may file new lawsuit against CES.
In the press release with which he announced his resignation yesterday from the Center for Social Studies at the University of Coimbra (CES), Boaventura de Sousa Santos wrote that he had received “threats that are unacceptable and that led to this outcome“.
“I tried to be respectful and cooperative with all the initiatives that were developed at CES, but it is clear that the hunting against me has taken on unbearable dimensions and illegal, so I can’t go any further”, the statement continued.
he also assured that he had been the target of an “attempted lynching” by the CES, who he said was a scapegoat.
According to , it seems possible to deduce, based on these statements and the internal statement, where he wrote that he does not trust that “there can be any type of impartial judgment at the CES” that Boaventura knows or has reason to conclude that the result of the investigation process will have been favorable to him.
According to the newspaper, there may even be a disciplinary process with a view to dismissal – hence Boaventura accuses the CES management of wanting to “expel” him.
On Tuesday night, the CES management sent a statement to DN in response to BSS’s accusations, stating that “the prior investigation process which aimed at the evidentiary investigation of concrete facts and their agents” was “completed”, but “any subsequent action is superveniently useless”.
In other words, with Boaventura’s resignation, any disciplinary process that could be applied to him no longer makes sense.
The DN also talks about the possibility of the sociologist filing an action or complaint against the CES, which would be the third process triggered by the following allegations that he has been the target of since March 2023.
Attempt to silence victims refused
Lara Roque Figueiredolawyer for four women accused of sexual harassment by Boaventura de Sousa Santos, reminded DN that the sociologist requested a provisional measure to prevent the four defendants from speaking publicly about him and the process (the DN even talks about “gag”), a request that has now been denied by the Coimbra Court.
The lawyer also guarantees that the magistrate in charge of the case appealed to the freedom of expression of the victims.
Boaventura had already initiated a civil action against four of the women who are part of the CES Victims’ Collective, and has now announced another action, “to be initiated in the next few days”, against the remaining women who are part of the collective and accuse itjustifying that the first concerns residents in Portugal and the second concerns non-residents.
