The Council of Europe recommends that Portugal carry out an independent review into investigations into police brutality against detainees, the handling of complaints within 48 hours, and criticizes a system that reinforces a sense of impunity for aggressors.
The Council of Europe’s European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman and Degrading Treatment (CPT) today published its annual report for 2023, presenting its findings on the visit to Portugal in May and June 2022 and the authorities’ response. national issues and concerns noted regarding the “frequent practice” of physical abuse of detainees by police officers.
According to the CPT report, a visit to Portugal in 2022 showed that police ill-treatment was common during detention, including in police stations and GPR posts, and mainly consisted of slapping, punching, beatings and kicking after how the detainee is already under the control of security forces, also noting that in police departments the practice of handcuffing detainees to furniture continues.