CDU says attacks on immigrants are the result of anti-democratic groups

The head of the CDU list in the European Parliament, João Oliveira, said this Sunday that attacks on immigrants in Porto are “intolerable events” stemming from the ideology of anti-democratic political forces.

According to Oliveira, the events of Friday morning in Porto, when immigrants were attacked by a group of men, “are not related to the hate speech, racism and xenophobia that are propagated in Portuguese society by reactionary and undemocratic political forces.”

The head of the CDU list in the European elections on June 9 said in a statement that these reactionary political forces “are taking advantage of circumstances in which immigrants are exploited and dehumanized, with the most basic lack of response to ensure their rights, be it work, housing or access to health care in order to put pressure on the deterioration of the living conditions of the Portuguese.”

Early on Friday morning, around 1 a.m., PSP was alerted to an attack at Campo 24 de Agosto in Porto by a group of four or five people who fled before agents arrived, a police spokesman said. , indicating that two of the attackers were being treated at the São João hospital.

About 10 minutes later in Rua do Bonfim, 10 immigrants were attacked in the house where they were staying by a group of 10 men armed with sticks and presumably firearms, which the PSP had not yet been able to destroy. I confirm, said the same source.

According to the spokesman, at 3 a.m. on Rua Fernandez Tomas, another immigrant was also attacked by other suspects, one of whom used a firearm.

Following these attacks, six men were identified and one was arrested for possession of an illegal weapon, taken to court and remanded in pre-trial detention.

Given the suspicion of a hate crime, the case was referred to the judicial police.