Man convicted of racially motivated murder in Setúbal appeals to Constitutional Court
Ângelo Guterres, convicted of a 23-year sentence for killing an Indian citizen in Setúbal, takes his case to the Constitutional Court arguing the unconstitutionality of dual punishment for racial hatred and futile motive.
Defence contests "dual punishment" for racial hatred and seeks annulment of ruling
Google News PT — Crime (pt) reports that Ângelo Guterres, convicted to 23 years in prison for the homicide of Gurpreet Singh, a 24-year-old Indian citizen, in Setúbal, will now appeal to the Constitutional Court after the Supreme Court of Justice upheld the sentence in full.
The defence lawyer, Pedro Pestana, argues that the conviction is based on an unconstitutionality: the court having aggravated the sentence on the basis of two simultaneous grounds — "futile motive" and "racial hatred". "The dual punishment of the crime's motivation is unconstitutional and cannot be maintained for the sentence's aggravation," Pestana wrote in the appeal sent to the Constitutional Court. The defence adds that there was a violation of the duty to provide reasoning, as the court made a merely "opinionative interpretation" without identifying the concrete evidence supporting the classification of the defendant as racist. "The conviction for 'racial hatred' is supported by a merely subjective assessment," the lawyer argues, citing expressions from the ruling such as "Nationalist Vigilante" and "Staunch Nationalist" to illustrate what he considers a value judgement without evidentiary basis.
The crime occurred in November 2023, in a house on Rua Engenheiro Ribeiro da Silva, in Praias do Sado, where six Indian citizens resided. According to what was proven in court, Ângelo Guterres first went to the location for reconnaissance, entered under the pretext of visiting a neighbouring friend and confirmed the presence of the victims. He then telephoned his brother Fábio to ask for a shotgun, saying he wanted to "settle accounts".
Once armed, Ângelo raised the shutter of a bedroom where Gurpreet Singh was located and fired twice, hitting him fatally in the chest. He exited towards the rear patio in an attempt to hit anyone fleeing. There he confronted Major Singh, fired twice more and wounded him in the shoulder, but the victim managed to re-enter the house and remove the rifle from the defendant. Ângelo and Fábio, who had accompanied the entire incident, then fled. Both were detained by the Judicial Police a few days later.
Fábio Guterres was convicted to 13 years in prison for complicity in the crimes, but without the aggravating factor of racial hatred. Judge Tiago Prudente, of Setúbal Court, classified the events as "a hunt, with the victims targeted solely for being Indian", and further noted that the defendants could have been accused of attempted homicide against all the residents of the dwelling.
The episode that preceded the crime began in a café in the Praias do Sado area, where Ângelo argued with Indian citizens after his mother complained of insults — complaints which, as established, did not involve the victims of the attack. According to the court, it was there that Ângelo "formed the purpose of taking the lives of Indian citizens who resided in the locality".
Ângelo Guterres had already appealed to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Justice without obtaining any reduction of his sentence. In the appeal now lodged with the Constitutional Court, the defence seeks the annulment of the ruling or, alternatively, the reform of the conviction decision, reiterating that "the application of the 'racial hatred' motive is unconstitutional as it violates the principle of legality and criminal typicality".
Source: Google News PT — Crime (pt)