Braga court imposes 21 years' imprisonment on Brazilian citizen for death by stabbing
A 28-year-old man has been sentenced for fatally stabbing a 19-year-old youth near a university bar in Braga. He must leave Portugal after serving his sentence.
Braga court imposes 21 years' imprisonment on Brazilian citizen for death by stabbing
The judges in Braga have handed down a sentence of 21 and a half years' imprisonment to a 28-year-old individual from Brazil for the murder of a 19-year-old youth in the vicinity of the Académico Bar at the University of Minho.
The incident occurred at around 1.18 in the morning on 12 April 2025. Inside the nightspot, the victim — nicknamed Manu — questioned people associated with the defendant, believing that one of them had tampered with a woman's drink who frequented the venue. Later, on the street, a disturbance ensued involving physical assaults. The convicted man, armed with a kitchen knife, approached the young man, who was carrying no object, and inflicted three wounds to areas of his body that caused his death.
The judge who presided over the trial emphasised the extreme gravity of the accused's conduct, the brute force employed, the manifest disregard for human life and the insignificance of the motive. For the court, the reaction was excessive given the initial disagreement, since the aggressor could simply have walked away.
During oral proceedings, the defendant did not express remorse. The president of the panel even commented that the defendant's only regret would be that he had not managed to escape unpunished.
In addition to the prison sentence, the convicted man has been ordered to be expelled from national territory after serving his sentence. A compensation award of approximately 227,000 euros has also been set to be paid to the victim's parents.
Lawyer Marta Bessa Rodrigues, who represented the accused, requested acquittal, arguing that there was no conclusive evidence of her client's presence at the location of the murder. In the alternative, she sought reclassification of the offence to manslaughter or mere participation in a public disturbance.
The sentence is not final and can be appealed.
Source: Público
Source: Público