A trial begins Friday in Lisbon City Council’s bid to challenge a €1.2 million fine imposed for disseminating activist data in the wake of the Russiagate affair.
A source connected to the case told Lusa that the trial is scheduled for Friday at 10:00 am at the Lisbon Administrative Court after the Court of Appeal announced that it is the competent body to hear the case, following various procedures and. appeals that raised doubts as to which court would be competent.
A delay in deciding which court is competent could result in several important elements of the process being ordered, a court source explained to Luse.
In January 2022, the Lisbon Chamber, led by Carlos Moedas (PSD), challenged the €1.25 million fine that the National Data Protection Commission (CNPD) imposed on the municipality for violating the General Data Protection Regulation in the “transfer of personal data.” data of the organizers of the demonstration to third parties.”
The CNPD identified 225 administrative offenses in municipal communications in the context of demonstrations, rallies or parades.
The fine was the result of a process initiated following a report that was submitted to the CNPD on March 19, 2021, regarding reports by the Municipality of Lisbon, when it was headed by Fernando Medina (PS), to the Russian Embassy in Portugal and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs provided the personal data of the organizers of the demonstration that took place at the embassy. which became known as Russiagate.
Activists, dissidents of the Russian regime, protested in January 2021 for the release of Russian government opponent Alexei Navalny and said that the Lisbon city council jeopardized their safety and the safety of their family members in Russia by publishing your data. .
The case became public knowledge in June 2021, at the height of the campaign ahead of local elections, which led to a series of protests from Amnesty International to political parties.
Fernando Medina said he learned of the case through the media and asked for a “public apology” for the disclosure, believing it was a “regrettable mistake that could not have happened.”
A month after the disclosure of data to Russian authorities became known, the Lisbon city council overwhelmingly approved the dismissal of the municipal data protection officer.
Presenting the results of an internal audit on the matter, Fernando Medina admitted that the municipality had repeatedly ignored a 2013 order signed by António Costa, then president of the municipality, in which he gave “the order to change the procedure so that data is sent only to the Public Security Police and the Ministry of the Interior” .
Confronted with the case, Russian Ambassador to Portugal Mikhail Kamynin said in June 2021 that the embassy had destroyed the protesters’ data, stressing that the information had not been passed on to Moscow.
In February 2023, three activists announced that they would sue the local authorities, demanding compensation of 120 thousand euros as “compensation for moral damages caused”, since the fine requested by the CNPD “did not benefit any person or entity affected by victim of this crime.” repeated practice of unlawful disclosure of personal data.”
A court hearing on the activists’ claim for compensation has not yet been scheduled, and its outcome “is independent of the chamber’s decision to pay the fine, even if it lapses in whole or in part,” according to a source connected to the case. “.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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