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The prime minister, António Costa, guaranteed this Friday, in Brussels, that he maintains “total confidence” in the Minister of Internal Administration, Eduardo Cabrita, considering that “it was the minister who did what was his responsibility” in the case of the death of Ukrainian citizen Ihor Homenyuk
At a press conference at the end of a European Council, before the minister’s words the day before, which had put the prime minister in the hands of the executive, António Costa recalled that he does not usually “comment on domestic policy issues” in Brussels, but insisted in “making an exception so that there is no doubt” about his support for Cabrita.
“I have total confidence in Dr. Eduaro Cabrita as Minister of Internal Administration. It was the minister who did what he was supposed to do. As soon as the case became known, he ordered an investigation to be opened. Of the truth. The judicial authorities were immediately notified to proceed criminally. And it ensured, with the Ombudsman’s Office, an agile mechanism to be able to repair the relatives for this barbaric act that occurred by a security force, “he said. .
The Head of Government added that, “more than that, [o ministro] The reform of our border police system is already ready, which will undergo a profound reform, in order to adjust not only what is the need for scrupulous respect for democratic legality and human rights but also to comply with a measure that was already in place. foreseen in the Government’s program, long before this case, there was a total separation between what are the police functions and the administrative management functions of foreigners residing in Portugal ”.
Interior Minister Eduardo Cabrita said Thursday that he has a clear conscience regarding his mandate, highlighting that the decision to leave the Government rests with the Prime Minister.
In recent days, Eduardo Cabrita’s continuity in the post of minister was questioned by some political parties, after the death of a Ukrainian citizen at the facilities of the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) at Lisbon Airport, but the official the government ruled out the possibility. give up.
Even before António Costa’s remarks, the Foreign Minister had greeted his colleague Eduardo Cabrita for the “clarity” with which he reacted to the death of a Ukrainian citizen at the SEF facilities and revealed that both apologized with the Ukrainian ambassador.
“I have never seen a Minister of Interior Administration react with this clarity to a crime committed by security forces and services under his tutelage as Minister Eduardo Cabrita. Therefore, I think that if something he deserves here is a compliment for that,” he said . Augusto Santos Silva in an interview with the Variable Geometry program of Antena1.
The number three of the executive hierarchy, after António Costa and Siza Vieira, affirmed that the Minister of Internal Administration and himself, as soon as they had knowledge of the facts, apologized to the Ukrainian ambassador in Lisbon and assured him that they would be determined the responsibilities. .
“The Minister of the Interior, as soon as he had knowledge of this fact, met in person with the Ukrainian ambassador to Portugal. And as soon as I found out, I called the Ukrainian ambassador to Portugal, and we both said the same thing: We apologize immediately for what happened and we guaranteed that responsibilities would be cleared, “he emphasized.
Santos Silva admitted that “it is a legitimate question” to ask whether they should have apologized directly to the family of the Ukrainian citizen, although he noted that “this is a common practice” in these cases.
In the interview, the Minister of State and Foreign Affairs also acknowledges that the director of the Foreign and Border Service (SEF) did not resign immediately, when it was made public that Ihor Homenyuk had been tortured to death at the facilities of that service in Lisbon airport.
But “for the assessment to be fair, it is important not to forget part of the facts” and the minister recalled that “all those directly and indirectly responsible for the operation of the Lisbon detention center where these torture and beatings to death occurred were dismissed and was changed “.
Augusto Santos Silva also considered that, already in March, when the death of the Ukrainian citizen was made public, Eduardo Cabrita used “the expression that best characterizes the government’s reaction: ‘I was punched in the stomach as it had never been in my stomach. public life”. .
“We all feel that way” in the Government, concluded the Minister of State and Foreign Relations.
On Thursday, the Council of Ministers made public that the Portuguese state will pay compensation to the family of the Ukrainian citizen killed on March 12 at the Aliens and Borders Service (SEF) at Lisbon airport.
The death of Ihor Homenyuk at the SEF facilities led to the prosecution of three inspectors of that service for aggravated homicide, whose trial will begin next year.
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