Mário Machado’s prison sentence increased to four years

No possibility of suspending the sentence. “We have a history of committing serious crimes and an increase in crimes involving incitement to hatred in this last period,” said the judge.

The court decided this Friday to impose a legal maximum of four years in prison on neo-Nazi militant Mário Machado and refused the possibility of suspending the sentence.

“We have a history of committing serious crimes and an increase in this last period of crimes of incitement to hatred. At this stage, given the image we have of recent times, the court decides not to apply the suspended sentence”, said judge Vítor Teixeira de Sousa.

Regarding whether there was the possibility of maintaining the suspension of the execution of the sentence, the judge responded: “Quite honestly, the court understood that it was not.”

This legal cumulation is related to the effective prison sentence that Mário Machado has been serving since May last year for two years and 10 months in prison for discrimination and incitement to hatred and violence, and the suspended sentence of three years for incitement to hatred and violence.

At issue in the process in which Mário Machado is serving his sentence were messages published on the social network, attributed to Mário Machado and Ricardo Pais – also convicted in this process -, in which they called for the “forced prostitution” of women from left-wing partiesand which targeted in particular the teacher and former leader of the Socialist Alternative Movement (MAS) Renata Cambra.

Mário Machado and Ricardo Pais were sentenced in the first instance on May 7, 2024, and at the time, defense lawyer José Manuel Castro expressed surprise at the sentence, considering it “unjustified and heavy”, and hoped for an acquittal of Mário Machado by the Lisbon Court, which did not happen.

The decision to increase the sentence takes place this Friday, just three days after one of the PJ dismantled the ultranationalist Group 1143, led by Mário Machado. 37 people were arrested and 15 were accusedincluding the mother and ex-wife of Portugal’s most famous skinhead.