The complaint, which must be delivered to the Ombudsman on January 6th, considers the police operation that the PSP carried out on Rua do Benformoso was disproportionate and harmful to fundamental principles of the rule of law.
disproportionate and harmful to fundamental principles of the rule of law.
“Such action constitutes, in our view, the use of disproportionate means in relation to the announced ends: the way in which the operation was conducted violates the principle of proportionality provided for in article 18 of the Federal Constitution and also the fundamental rights to human dignity and presumption of innocence”, they ponder.
The complaint, which must be delivered on January 6th to the OmbudsmanMaria Lúcia Amaral, also states that push citizens against the wall “in an overt manner, without indicating concrete suspicions of involvement in crimes, and adopting invasive procedures” configure a “unnecessary and humiliating action” by the authorities.
“If an intervention in the area is to be justified, it can never imply a symbolic and individually vexing action, when the PSP has other proportional and appropriate means of action at its disposal”, indicates the text.
Complaint “is not against the police, but in favor of a better future”
Personalities such as deputy Joana Mortágua (BE), deputy and former minister of Labor, Solidarity and Social Security Ana Mendes Godinho (PS), director Tiago Rodrigues, deputy and historian sociologist José Soeiro (BE), music promoter Maria Escaja and the parliamentary leader of Livre, Isabel Mendes Lopes, among others, have already endorsed the complaint.
Speaking to Lusa, Bruno Maia explained that it is a “very plural” text, not being at all against the police, but in favor of a better future, and that A link will be released today where anyone who wants to sign the document can do so.
The prosecutors of the complaint also consider it worrying that this type of operations takes place “in an area of the city predominantly frequented by immigrant communities, raising serious doubts about the equity in the treatment of citizens depending on where they live or travel”.
“These actions would hardly take place in other areas of the city, a fact that deepens the perception of inequality in the treatment of different communities. Such actions contradict the values of democracy and republican values and create an environment of distrust between the population and the security forces “, says the text.
The document is circulating on social media, as is the call for a demonstration scheduled for January 11th, which will go down Avenida Almirante Reis, towards Martim Moniz, in Lisbon.
The prosecutors of the complaint ask the Ombudsman to investigate and determine the legitimacy and proportionality of the police action on December 19th, considering that this situation “requires deep reflection and the adoption of measures” to ensure that, in the future, “they are disproportionate practices that harm fundamental rights such as this are avoided”.
A decided to open an administrative proceeding “of a non-disciplinary nature” regarding the PSP operation in Martim Moniz, which took place on the afternoon of December 19, when a strong police device surrounded Rua do Benformoso, where there is a large community of citizens from the Indian subcontinent , and searched dozens of people, who spent between one and two hours facing the wall.
Two Portuguese detained
Two men, both of Portuguese nationality, were detainedone for possession of a prohibited weapon and drugs and the other on suspicion of at least eight crimes of robbery.
The PSP’s action has been criticized by immigrant associations, anti-racism groups and various political forces, who accuse the police of being at the service of the Government’s propaganda against irregular foreign citizens.
The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, also considered that police actions must be carried out with modesty.
