Portuguese border officials sentenced for airport killing politico.eu - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from politico.eu Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Three Portuguese border police officers have been handed prison sentences for beating a Ukrainian migrant to death.
A Lisbon court found that the inspectors kicked and beat the handcuffed Ihor Homeniuk with batons, breaking his ribs and causing death by asphyxiation. It happened on March 12, 2020, in the temporary reception centre at Lisbon airport.
He had arrived in Portugal by plane two days earlier from Turkey without a valid visa, in search of work.
Homeniuk was immediately detained by immigration authorities for deportation after refusing to board a flight out of the country.
On Monday, three police officials were sentenced to between seven and nine years in prison over the 40-year-old man s death.
Lisbon, Portugal – On March 10, 2020, like tens of thousands of Ukrainians before him, 40-year-old Ihor Homenyuk travelled to Portugal.
But he was refused entry at the border, detained in Lisbon’s Portela airport, and scheduled to be deported.
Two days later, he died at a detention centre at the airport after enduring physical abuse, leaving behind two children and a widow.
On Monday, a Portuguese court found three border guards guilty of contributing to his death by causing grievous bodily harm.
Homenyuk’s death was “a direct consequence of the actions of the accused”, said the judge.
“In this sense, the accused did kill Ihor Homenyuk … The agents deliberately treated Homenyuk in a way that was dehumanising, knowing that he was in pain and having difficulty breathing. They left him to his suffering.”
Border cops murder trial puts spotlight on Portugal s immigration service reuters.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from reuters.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Portugal border cops plead not guilty in killing of detained traveller
Lawyers representing the accused argued the media had made scapegoats out of their clients, and that others working in the detention centre that night should also face charges. There are many tales of abuse which happen in this no-man s land , Ricardo Sa Fernandes, representing accused officer Bruno Sousa, said in his opening statement.Reuters | Updated: 02-02-2021 22:50 IST | Created: 02-02-2021 22:50 IST
Three Portuguese police officers accused of killing a detained Ukrainian man in a Lisbon airport lock-up pleaded not guilty as their murder trial began on Tuesday, a case rights advocates say has exposed a record of abuse within the immigration service. Lawyers representing the accused argued the media had made scapegoats out of their clients, and that others working in the detention centre that night should also face charges.