(Reuters) – The leader of Portugal’s far-right Chega party has been ordered to remove street posters from his presidential campaign that attack the Roma community, after a Lisbon court ruled they were discriminatory and could incite hatred.
Judge Ana Barão said the poster ‘attacks an ethnic minority’ and gave André Ventura 24 hours to remove them or face a daily fine of 2,500 euros ($2,940) per poster.
Chega, an anti-immigration and anti-establishment party, emerged just six years ago and, in May, became the second largest parliamentary force after the center-right government alliance.
Continues after advertising
‘(The posters) aggravate the stigma and prejudice that Roma communities already face in Portuguese society in general, thus promoting intolerance, segregation, discrimination and, ultimately, hatred,’ wrote Barão in his decision.
Ventura called the court case an ‘attack on freedom of expression’, but last week promised to comply with any court ruling.
Ricardo Sá Fernandes, the lawyer representing the Roma associations that filed the complaint, said the decision would help make Portugal ‘more fair and decent’, calling it ‘a victory for the resistance’ of the Roma.
In May, Portuguese prosecutors opened an investigation into discriminatory comments against gypsies made by Ventura.
Recent opinion polls place Ventura, who is campaigning on a promise to fight corruption, among the frontrunners in the first round of Portugal’s presidential election on January 18.
Polls also indicate he would lose to any of his three main rivals in a runoff.
Continues after advertising
