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The European Network Against Racism (ENAR) warned this Thursday of what it describes as a “very worrying increase in racist attacks by the extreme right in Portugal” in recent months and calls for an “urgent response from the Portuguese authorities.”
In a joint statement issued in Brussels, endorsed by 72 civil society organizations and 16 MEPs, ENAR, in its acronym in English, expresses “strong solidarity” with Portuguese “fellow activists” who work tirelessly to promote justice and challenge justice. racism. “He maintains that these” are not safe “today, in light of the recent death threats received.
Taking into account several episodes of racism this year, the network notes that “since 2019, when the Portuguese far-right party won seats in Parliament for the first time, far-right activists have been encouraged to commit racially motivated crimes against people of color in Portugal ”, and several human rights defenders and families were“ personally attacked and threatened, and faced hate speech, death threats and judicial harassment ”.
“The brutality, volume and frequency of attacks are increasing and make activists feel unsafe, especially in a context in which they do not feel protected by the authorities,” says the platform, which therefore asks ” urgently an institutional response by the Portuguese authorities ”.
“They must conduct robust and effective police investigations and hold all those who incite hatred and promote violence against human rights defenders through a full legal process,” the statement read.
According to ENAR, “the absence of an institutional response only reaffirms the historical feeling of impunity of the perpetrators of racist violence and denies the state of emergency to confront racism in Portugal.”
The network also calls on European institutions to take “effective measures to ensure that human rights defenders are protected in Europe” and, addressing the German presidency of the EU Council in particular, calls for an increase in racist acts and threats against activists in Europe and that the threat from the far right be put on the European agenda.
The declaration is signed by 72 civil society organizations from different Member States and 16 members of the European Parliament, including two from the Left Bloc, Marisa Matias and José Gusmão.
On August 13, the Public Ministry opened a criminal investigation after several deputies and the SOS Racismo association received threats via email and after the self-proclaimed “New Avis Order – National Resistance” held a vigil with the association. .
“The investigation is confirmed, under which all the facts that have been made public in recent days will be investigated,” the Prosecutor’s Office responded to the Lusa agency.
Days before, the leader of SOS Racismo Mamadou Ba went to give statements to the Judicial Police and confirmed that he had received, along with nine other people, an email indicating the 48-hour period to leave the country, of which otherwise they would be at risk of life.
The deputies of the Bloco de Esquerda (BE) Beatriz Dias and Mariana Mortágua said that same day that they would file a complaint with the MP for the threats received, the party’s source confirmed to Lusa.
In addition to the two BE deputies, the unregistered deputy (ex-Livre) Joacine Katar Moreira and the leader of SOS Racismo Mamadou Ba were also attacked.
“We inform you that a period of 48 hours has been assigned for the anti-fascist and anti-racist leaders included in this list, to cease their political functions and leave the Portuguese territory,” reads the “e-mail”, which Lusa had access to. .
The electronic message states that if the deadline is exceeded, “measures will be taken against these leaders and their families, in order to guarantee the safety of the Portuguese people”, and that “the month of August will be the month of nationalist rebirth” .
Dated August 11, the message was sent from an address created on a temporary “email” “website” and is signed by “Avis New Order-National Resistance,” the same designation of a group that complained, on the social network Facebook, after having carried out, with his face covered and torches, a “vigil in honor of the security forces” in front of the SOS Racismo facilities in Lisbon.
The President of the Republic recommended to the Democrats “zero tolerance” and “common sense” to combat racism, commenting on the threats that three deputies and seven other activists were targeted.
“Democrats must be very firm in their principles and, at the same time, be sensible in their defense. Firm in principle means zero tolerance with what the Constitution condemns [da República Portuguesa]Sensitivity means being attentive to campaigns and escalation, which is easy to do on sensitive issues in Portuguese society, ”said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
The government and various parties, as well as the president of the Assembly of the Republic, also rejected the threats to the activists and the association.
