Latest news and stories about protests in legal in Lisboa, Portugal for expats and residents.
CNN Portugal commentator Jorge Silva Carvalho analysed the protests held in Lisbon and Porto regarding the housing crisis, questioning the immediate involvement of legal representation in inorganic movements.
Lisbon police have warned housing rights protesters that their camp at Rossio square is unauthorised and must be cleared, while hoping to resolve the standoff without force. Despite the dispersal deadline passing, demonstrators formed human chains to protect their tents, maintaining their protest against current housing policies amid fears of an eviction similar to that in Porto.
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in Lisbon and Porto to protest against the government's proposed changes to the labour law, known as the 'Work XXI' reform. Led by the CGTP union, the protests highlighted concerns that the reforms would negatively impact workers' rights. CGTP's Secretary-General, Tiago Oliveira, called for the government to withdraw the labour package, emphasizing its detrimental effects on the workforce.
The G7 foreign ministers are meeting today and tomorrow in Paris. Also, Ventura believes that in the next legislative elections the race will be between Chega and the PS.
By Carlos Rodrigues.
Protester accuses media outlets of not being impartial when sharing information.
Civil society representatives ask that the Lisbon Administrative Court's decision be respected. Additionally, an attack in Poland leaves at least six dead and more than a dozen injured.
A standoff is developing between Lisbon City Council and the housing rights movement. Carlos Moedas is demanding that the protesters' tents be removed from Rossio Square, where he intends to set up the Christmas market. Activists report that the Municipal Police were on-site to request the removal of the encampment, and they have decided to take their protests to the Web Summit. We are updating all developments regarding the protests here.
The solution found by the Lisbon City Council for the Christmas Market in Rossio has already led activist Renata Cambra to ask the court to declare the order signed by the mayor null and void and to compel the PSP and the Municipal Police “not to adopt any measures of dispersal, cessation, removal or relocation of the demonstration”
The Public Security Police (PSP) and the Lisbon City Council (CML) are calling for the removal of the protest encampment.
The majority of demonstrators arrested during the October 20th encampment in Lisbon decided this Friday, November 6th, to proceed to trial, as the Public Prosecutor's Office continues to consider whether to archive the case, according to the defense. Lawyer Ricardo Sá Fernandes noted that only a very small number of individuals accepted the provisional suspension of the proceedings, leaving the possibility of dismissal or trial open. The Public Prosecutor is currently reviewing the case in light of a recent Administrative Court ruling that authorized protest activities, including overnight stays, in Lisbon's Rossio square. While some defendants may accept a settlement involving a donation to charity, those choosing trial face potential acquittal, fines, or imprisonment. Meanwhile, Mayor Moedas is pressuring protesters to relocate for a Christmas market, and the Porto encampment has demanded the resignation of Luís Neves.
The 86 protesters detained during recent police crackdowns at the Lisbon encampment in Rossio Square are scheduled to be heard by the Public Prosecution Service on Friday, October 6th. This follows incidents involving demonstrators advocating for housing rights. Legal proceedings are currently under review, with the Public Prosecution Service considering the possibility of archiving disobedience charges in light of recent administrative court rulings that upheld the right to demonstrate. Both the Ombudsman and the General Inspectorate of Internal Administration (IGAI) have launched inquiries into the police conduct during these protests in Lisbon and Porto to assess whether the use of force was proportionate and consistent with constitutional rights.
Rita Júdice rejects that the court's decision allows the indiscriminate presence of tents in Rossio. She also laments the lack of balance shown by some protesters.
For now, the movement's leaders are refusing to leave the square, but the police will intervene again if they do not comply.
During the State Budget hearing at the Assembly of the Republic, the Minister of Justice called for balance regarding housing demonstrations. Rita Alarcão Júdice was also praised by the opposition.
Democratic values are facing challenges that none of us imagined in this little corner.
The motion of commendation was approved with abstentions from the PS and IL, and votes in favour from the PSD, CDS-PP, and Chega. A motion of repudiation from the PAN regarding the “government's political responsibility for the PSP interventions” was rejected.
Doctors, nurses, and firefighters have signed a statement against the police charges on Sunday in Rossio and Porto, where around 100 tents were removed and dozens of people were injured.
In the early hours of Sunday, the PSP dispersed the encampments for the right to housing at Rossio, in Lisbon, and at Praça D. João I, in Porto, removing approximately 100 tents.
MEP Catarina Martins, deputy Fabian Figueiredo, and Bloc coordinator José Manuel Pureza filed two international complaints on Monday regarding police conduct against protests and encampments for housing rights in Lisbon and Porto.
A tent remains set up in Rossio this morning. A new popular assembly is scheduled for tonight. Additionally, the Government signs the contract for the partial sale of TAP to Lufthansa today.
The popular assembly of the Lisbon Sit-in approved the return of tents to Rossio this Tuesday, following a judicial decision that authorised a protester to remain in the square until 24 November.
The popular assembly of the Lisbon Occupy movement approved today the acceptance of an invitation for a meeting with the President of the Republic, António José Seguro.
The Lisbon encampment celebrated the 'collective victory' of the court's decision regarding Renata Cambra's right to protest in Rossio. However, voices were heard sounding an 'alert' regarding the Government's future actions.
The Lisbon encampment returned to Rossio this Monday to celebrate the decision of the Administrative Court of Lisbon, which ruled that the 12:30 AM curfew for demonstrations is not 'absolute and automatic'.
Constitutional scholar Jorge Bacelar Gouveia points out inconsistencies and calls it a “very limited victory” for the protesters. Meanwhile, Pedro Bacelar Vasconcelos praises the reasoning behind the judicial decision.
The National Institute for Medical Emergency has special teams on the front line alongside PSP officers, who maintain a link to a command post and various personnel, including ambulances stationed in the immediate vicinity of the protests. Over the weekend, INEM recorded a total of 25 minor injuries.
Sérgio Soares, spokesperson for the institution, stated that protesters must understand 'our way of being and interpreting the law and the Constitution'
Sérgio Soares, spokesperson for the PSP, states that the PSP always attempted to engage in dialogue with protesters in both Lisbon and Porto.
The Lisbon Administrative Court ruled that the 12:30 am curfew for demonstrations is not “absolute and automatic,” authorizing a protester to remain in Rossio, Lisbon, overnight with a tent.
