A man from Braga, who spent a year in pre-trial detention on charges of domestic violence but was eventually acquitted, sued the state for almost 73,000 euros in compensation, but the court rejected the claim.
In a decision dated April 20, Tuesday, consulted by Lusa, the Court of Appeal of Guimarães upheld the decision of the first instance, emphasizing that an acquittal “is not a sufficient condition for compensation for preventive detention, requiring that it be shown that the defendant was not the perpetrator of the crime or acted lawfully.
“The perpetrator was acquitted of the crime of domestic violence on the basis of the in dubio pro reo principle, which does not entitle him to compensation,” he adds.
In other words, the court explains, the defendant was acquitted “not because it was proved that he was not the author of the facts that led to his arrest and for which he was given a preventive measure in the form of a measure of restraint by the investigating judge during his first trial” . interrogation, not in the fact that he acted lawfully, but in the fact that the facts that were imputed to him in the indictment, recognized as proven, were assigned a different legal significance.
The Court reiterates that the Code of Criminal Procedure provides that pre-trial detention “is only considered to be materially unjustified and therefore constitutes an obligation to pay damages if an order is issued for a gross error in the assessment of the relevant factual assumptions”.
He adds that the defendant had to prove the existence of a gross error.
The defendant was in custody from November 29, 2019 to November 23, 2020 on charges of domestic violence against a woman.
After a court hearing, a verdict was passed that acquitted him of the crime of domestic violence and ordered his release.
He was convicted only for possession of a prohibited weapon with a fine of 1,200 euros.
He filed a lawsuit against the State seeking compensation for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage in the amount of 72,844 euros caused by preventive detention.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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