Expropriated Lisbon building owner complains his life was ruined to build a mosque

The owner of two buildings on Lisbon’s Rua do Benformoso expropriated by the city council in 2016 to build a mosque returned on Tuesday to complain about the process he was subjected to, saying they had ruined his life.

At a meeting of the Lisbon Municipal Assembly, during the public intervention period, the expropriated owner António Barroso stated that the process was “poorly managed by António Costa (PS) and Fernando Medina (PS)”, given that his assets were “poorly valued” and stating that “they have been acting on behalf of the council since 2017”, but they still have to pay for the buildings every month.

“I wanted to continue living there,” said António Barroso, pointing out that the expropriation process had ruined his life due to financial and social security debts, and the council had even threatened to leave him living on the streets.

In a questioning session in the House, Liberal Initiative (LI) municipal MP Angelica da Teresa questioned the municipal executive’s position on the construction of the mosque in Muraria, pointing out that, according to the leader of the Bangladeshi community, it is “a project that has already been paid for”, despite being contested for more than a decade by “the owner who is the victim of an expropriation process”, which he described as “at least supersonic”.

“How can a municipality that allows so many of its assets to be occupied illegally, that has empty properties, that accumulates debts due to non-payment of rent, that has kept the drainage plan in a drawer for decades in spite of successive floods, that has not also completed the decentralization process in the coastal area where the Tapada das Necessidades royal garden is located, which is in complete disrepair, that does not authorize the Braço de Prata factory and which operates without minimum security conditions, then manage to carry out the expropriation process so quickly, it is simply incredible,” said the IL deputy.

Angelica da Teresa stated that “this project that everyone doesn’t know about is over 12 years old, when the community was much worse, so this whole process is completely incomprehensible” considering that “it’s probably outdated by now.”

While agreeing that the mosque needed to be built in order to have a “dignified and safe” place to pray, IL defended the project’s implementation in a space “where no one needs to be expropriated,” noting that there is empty land in Lisbon where a mosque could be built.

“We should not condemn anyone for being left without their home, especially an elderly person over 70 years old,” the IL deputy noted.

Referring to the position of the Chamber to Vice President Filipe Anacoreta Correia (CDS-PP), the Councilor for Municipal Works Filipa Roseta (PSD) said that the current executive director decided, two months after taking office, in October 2021, to suspend the Chamber’s forced demolition work on the house of this expropriated owner.

“It was still in court and there were already enforcement actions to demolish this man’s house and we immediately suspended them,” said Filippa Roseta.

The project to build a new mosque in Muraria, which began in 2012, has been mired in protests and delays.

The demolition of the buildings was originally planned to create a plaza that would allow access to the place of worship through a pedestrian crossing between Rua da Palma and Rua do Benformoso.

In 2015, the issue was again discussed in the Lisbon Chamber, which asked the Municipal Assembly to approve a declaration of public utility for the expropriation of the buildings needed to carry out the project, a proposal that was approved unanimously.

Since then, nothing has progressed and the Lisbon Municipal Assembly is currently formulating its opinion on the matter.