The way in which 13 Benfica “random criminals” who were tried for beating and raping members of their own fans were identified is being questioned due to contradictions between a witness and the PSP. The situation sparked a confrontation that occurred this Thursday but ended indefinitely.
We are talking about the testimony of Rodrigo Silva, a young man who was called to the PSP at the beginning of the investigation to try to identify the attackers. In his testimony in court, he assured that he was shown dozens of images of suspects with their names, some of whom are now under investigation, which PSP guarantees did not happen.
At this Thursday’s meeting, the last before final arguments, the same police officer assured that he had followed all the procedures established during these investigations.
On the other hand, the witness said that he may have expressed himself incorrectly, but later admitted that he had met the same police officer in the last few days. In practice, the question of the correct identification of the persons who committed crimes should be determined by the composition of the judges. Defense lawyers have warned the doubt could jeopardize the trial and questioned why there are only 13 defendants when about 30 people were involved in the attacks.
This Thursday’s hearing was also marked by testimony from three teachers of one of the accused, Pedro Costa, who described him as a “20-point student” who “does not understand how he is involved in this.”