Amnesty International demands investigation into PSP following 39 injured in Porto protest
Amnesty International has called for an independent investigation into the actions of the Public Security Police (PSP) in a police intervention against protesters camped in Praça D. João I.
Police intervention at camp leaves 39 injured, Amnesty demands response
Amnesty International demanded on Thursday an independent investigation into the intervention by the Public Security Police (PSP) against protesters camped in Praça D. João I, in Porto, following a police operation in the early hours that resulted in 39 injured among participants, according to reports from Correio da Manhã.
"Portuguese authorities must ensure an independent, impartial and effective investigation of the police operation. Anyone found responsible for the illegal use of force must be held accountable," stated João Godinho Martins, executive director of Amnesty International Portugal, in a statement.
PSP confirms injured, campaign attributes "extreme and disproportionate force"
The human rights organisation expressed concern about what it characterised as "excessive use of force". Godinho Martins stressed that the authorities have an obligation to respect and protect the right to protest even during the night, and that dispersal should be a last resort in the face of peaceful protesters.
"Reports of police violence against people protesting peacefully against Portugal's housing crisis are deeply concerning," he added, reiterating that "people have the right to protest peacefully, including the right to occupy public space, even during the night".
The PSP confirmed the existence of one injured police officer and injured among the protesters, without specifying the exact number, attributing the intervention to "resistant behaviour" on the part of those present.
Movement in Porto since Saturday with six demands
The Housing Movement, protesting in Praça D. João I since Saturday, denounced that the police intervention in the early hours of Thursday was carried out in a manner that was "extreme, disproportionate and unjustified" against a gathering that remained, according to the movement, "peaceful, never inciting violence". The organisation considered the charge "unacceptable" and demanded accountability.
Among the 39 injured counted by the movement was a person with a disability. Several participants were hospitalised following the operation.
The demands of the Housing Movement centre on six points: the revocation of rent laws, an end to evictions, the prohibition of property purchase by investment funds, an increase in the public housing stock, the recovery of vacant properties for housing, and the establishment of rent caps.
Hundreds in solidarity by evening
By 20:20 on Thursday, hundreds of people gathered again in Praça D. João I in solidarity with the Housing Movement, in response to what several participants described as disproportionate police repression during the early hours.
Source: Correio da Manhã