Investigation into torture at Rato police station extended by six more months
The Public Ministry has obtained six more months to investigate cases of torture at the PSP police station in Rato, Lisbon. The number of suspects may be higher than initially foreseen.
Torture case at Rato police station gains additional instruction period
The Public Ministry (PM) now has six more months to investigate the cases of torture recorded at the PSP police station in Rato, Lisbon, reports Correio da Manhã. The number of suspects involved may be higher than initially estimated.
The decision is contained in a ruling from the Central Court of Criminal Instruction, disclosed this Tuesday by Expresso and accessed by the Lusa news agency. Investigating judge Gabriela Lacerda Assunção accepted the PM's request to classify the case as being of special complexity.
This classification allows the PM to file an indictment without being obliged to release the seven defendants who are in preventive detention, keeping them detained during the additional investigation period.
Suspects still to be identified and ongoing interrogations
In the application presented to the court, prosecutor Felismina Carvalho Franco indicated that there are still suspects to be arrested, the majority of them PSP officers, and that it is necessary to apply coercive measures to some of them. The magistrate also pointed to the need to conduct supplementary interrogations of the defendants already formally charged.
The investigation focuses on alleged acts of torture committed in the premises of the Rato police station, one of the oldest in Lisbon. The case involves mainly elements of the Public Security Police, whose exact number has not yet been fully determined by the PM.
Source: Correio da Manhã