Latest news and stories about radicalization in Portugal for expats and residents.
Felipe Pathé Duarte discusses the latest annual internal security report, released this week, and how social marginalisation and the digital world are helping to radicalise more and more young people.
The latest operation by the Polícia Judiciária (PJ) against Grupo 1143 has once again exposed a reality known to investigators and magistrates for decades: in Portugal, violent far-right groups rarely disappear; they transform, fragment, and reappear under new names, leaderships, and strategies. The so-called 'Operation Brotherhood', led by the National Counterterrorism Unit (UNTC) of the PJ last month, targeted a structure suspected of crimes including discrimination, incitement to hatred and violence, assaults, and possession of prohibited weapons. However, for investigators, 1143 does not exist in a vacuum. It is part of a dynamic where historical neo-Nazi groups, identity movements, conspiracy networks, and new digital radicalisation platforms coexist, focusing on youth. Some of these groups have roots in the 1990s; others emerged in the social media era. Many share members, symbolism, narratives, and international contacts. More than isolated structures, they form a fluid environment where militants circulate among names, projects, and causes. This report outlines the main groups currently flagged by the PJ, with the caveat that there may be others still under investigation.
Commentary from Gustavo Silva, a lawyer and former inspector of the Judicial Police, on the case of the neo‑Nazi group 1143, dismantled on Tuesday by the PJ. Five of the 37 alleged members will await trial in pre‑trial detention.
