Prosecution by the Prosecutor’s Office (MP) in a new case involving the death of Ukrainian citizen Igor Homeniuk represents a “long and painful journey” for the family, lawyer Jose Gaspard Schwalbach said on Wednesday.
In statements sent to Luce, a lawyer representing the family of a Ukrainian citizen who died at the premises of the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) at the Lisbon airport confirmed the MP’s notice of the dispatch about the “tragic events” of March 2020, assuring that the prosecution would now analyzed in detail and that “justice will begin to be served” for the five new defendants.
“Facts are at stake that can be abstractly attributed to the crimes of illegal private security activities, kidnapping, negligent homicide as a result of inaction, as well as the crime of denial of justice and evasion by the guards, who were, SEF inspectors who were with Igor, and from the Lisbon Border Guard itself,” he said.
For José Gaspard Schwalbach, the prosecution of the deputy in a new process will force the family of Igor Homeniuk to relive the situation that occurred in March 2020.
On the other hand, the MP’s decision to blame former SEF border control director António Sergio Henriquez, two inspectors and two guards leads the widow and children to believe that “nobody can get away with this” in this case.
In a statement sent through a representative, the widow of Igor Homeniuk did not hide the pain associated with this whole situation, which has been going on since March 2020: “It is very painful that my husband left three years ago, and the killers live peacefully alone, taking advantage of life. They brutally killed my husband and we live without problems. For the third year, we are sad and miss the husband and father who took my children.”
The family’s defense also clarified that it now has 10 days to file a private prosecution and bring a possible civil compensation claim against the defendants.
Antonio Sergio Henriques, who was removed from office by the Ministry of the Interior on March 30, 2020 following the death of Igor Homeniuk in a facility equivalent to a temporary installation center (EECIT) at Lisbon Airport, is responsible in this new trial for crimes of denial of justice and evasion of justice.
Inspectors Joao Agostinho and Maria Vieira are charged with negligent homicide, while guards Manuel Correia and Paulo Marcelo are charged with kidnapping and illegal private security activities.
On May 10, 2021, the Lisbon Central Criminal Court sentenced, in the first case related to this case, inspectors Duarte Lajou and Luis Silva to nine years’ imprisonment and Bruno Souza to seven years’ imprisonment for the offense of causing qualified grievous bodily harm. ., exacerbated by the death of a Ukrainian.
On December 7 of the same year, the Court of Appeal of Lisbon (TRL) upheld the sentences of the first two inspectors and increased Bruno Sousa’s sentence to nine years. In July 2022, it was the Supreme Court’s turn to uphold the TRL’s decision.
According to the accusation of the deputy at the first trial, Igor Homeniuk died of slow asphyxiation as a result of kicks and batons of investigators, as a result of which a citizen of Ukraine broke eight ribs. In addition, he will be left handcuffed, with his hands behind his back and on his stomach, with difficulty breathing for a long time, which will cause a stop of cardiorespiratory activity.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.