Portugal: Police violence against peaceful housing protesters must be investigated
Initial reports suggest that the police deployed excessive force to disperse a peaceful protest camp in Porto, Portugal, in the early hours of 15 October that injured 37 people, said Amnesty International in a statement today.
“Reports of police violence against people peacefully protesting Portugal’s housing crisis are deeply troubling. People have the right to protest peacefully, including the right to occupy public space and including at night-time. The Portuguese authorities must respect and protect that right.
“Dispersal of peaceful protests must be a last resort. Reports that police beat protesters with batons resulting in dozens of people being injured, including a person with a disability, raise serious concerns that the use of force was disproportionate,” said João Godinho Martins, Executive Director of Amnesty International Portugal.