US State Department draws attention to complaints of police violence in Portugal

The US State Department highlights the volume of complaints about excessive police use of force in Portugal in its annual human rights report for 2022 released this Monday.

“While the constitution and law prohibit torture and other cruel, degrading or inhuman treatment or punishment, there have been credible reports of excessive use of force by the police, mistreatment and other forms of mistreatment of prisoners by prison guards,” the document says. United States government department document.

This analysis is based on 2021 data from the General Inspectorate for Internal Administration (IGAI), which reported 1,174 complaints of mistreatment and mistreatment by the police and prison guards, stressing that this was “the highest number since 2012”, and directed primarily at PSP (565) and GNR (353).

The report said that following these complaints, 41 disciplinary investigations were opened against security forces with various penalties, including reprimands, suspensions, forced retirement with reduced pensions, dismissals or legal penalties.

With regard to prisons and conditions of detention, the paper also highlights reports that “raised human rights concerns”, and given that the excessive length of pre-trial detention of accused awaiting trial “remains a problem “. although not exceeding the legal limits.

“Detention was generally attributed to lengthy investigations and trials, an inefficient judiciary, or a lack of staff,” the document says.

In criminal terms, the State Department highlighted the echoes of suspicions of corruption and illegal actions in public procurement with central and local authorities in the media, referring even to a recent incident that led to searches at the headquarters of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers.

The report also noted that gender-based violence, including domestic violence, “remains a problem” and noted that 20 domestic violence-related deaths were reported in the first nine months of the year, according to government organizations and the media. .

The investigation into the phenomenon of sexual harassment in the Portuguese Catholic Church also did not pass by the document, which, in addition to suspicions of a cover-up, noted hundreds of testimonies collected by the Independent Commission and the opening of an investigation by the State Ministry. erected by members of the Catholic hierarchy.

The State Department report also analyzed the protection of refugees and victims of trafficking and highlighted that some experts expressed “concern about government efforts to proactively identify victims of trafficking” in Portugal. “Sub-Saharan trafficking networks have increasingly used the country as a route to the Schengen area to exploit children for sexual exploitation and forced labor,” the document says.