The investigative hearings of the second trial in the case of Igor’s death at SEF facilities have been postponed

The inquest proceedings in the second case, related to the death of Ukrainian citizen Igor Gomenyuk in 2020 at the SEF premises at Lisbon airport, were postponed on Tuesday due to obstruction from the prosecutor who was a witness in the first case.

Entering the courtroom today, criminal investigation judge Karina Santos did not even begin work, informing those present that the testimony of the prosecutor (deputy) Alexandra Katatau in the previous case does not allow her to participate in the investigative debate. replacement is necessary to continue operation.

The judge said she hoped the setback would not delay scheduling of pretrial arguments (the final stage of the process that determines who will or will not appear in court and how) by more than a week. The meeting was adjourned in an attempt to immediately obtain the name of the deputy magistrate.

Coming to court, a team of lawyers representing the family of a Ukrainian citizen who died in March 2020 at the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) building at Lisbon airport expressed the widow’s hope that the accused will be brought to justice.

In a conversation with reporters, Anna Gutsul from the legal team said that Oksana Gomenyuk’s health has never been the same after the death of her husband, and added that “the widow wants people directly or indirectly involved in the murder to be punished at this moment.” “

The investigation of the second case was entrusted to two accused: Antonio Sergio Henriques, former director of border control of the SEF, and Manuel Correia, a security guard at the facility equivalent to the temporary accommodation center (EECIT) at the airport.

António Sergio Henriques, removed from office by the Ministry of the Interior in March 2020 following the death of Igor Gomeniuk, is responsible for denial of justice and malfeasance. Inspectors Joao Agostinho and Maria Cecilia Vieira are accused of manslaughter by omission, while guards Manuel Correia and Paulo Marcelo are accused of kidnapping and illegally carrying out private security activities.

As for the former director of the SEF border control department, the deputy understood that the defendant acted “with the purpose of his behavior to conceal the fact that inspectors Duarte Laja, Bruno Souza and Luis Silva handcuffed Igor Gomenyuk with his hands behind his back and the same happened with what remains between 08:40 and 16:40.”

Regarding inspectors Maria Cecilia Vieira and Joao Agostinho, the deputy concluded that they knew that the Ukrainian citizen was handcuffed with his hands behind his back for eight hours without supervision, and did not inform their superiors about this and did not remove the handcuffs when Igor Gomenyuk was calmer.

The deputy also accuses guards Manuel Correia and Paulo Marcelo of immobilizing Igor with tape around his ankles and arms, believing that “they acted independently, without orders or permission to resort to this form of restraint.”

In the first case of the death of Igor Gomenyuk, SEF inspectors Duarte Laja, Luis Silva and Bruno Souza were sentenced to nine years in prison for qualified grievous bodily harm, aggravated by the fact that it resulted in the death of the victim.

The three inspectors reported to Evora prison in August to serve out their remaining nearly six years after being under house arrest since 2020.

According to the MP’s charges in the first case, Igor Gomenyuk died of slow suffocation after attacks with legs and sticks carried out by investigators, as a result of which the Ukrainian citizen broke eight ribs. They also left him handcuffed with his hands behind his back, face down, with difficulty breathing for a long time, resulting in cardiopulmonary arrest.