Africa-Press – Cape verde. The Portuguese Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) has charged the PSP agent involved in the death of Odair Moniz in the Cova da Moura neighborhood (Amadora), district of Lisbon, with murder, the defendant’s lawyer confirmed to the Lusa news agency today.
Ricardo Serrano Vieira said that “a charge of homicide has been filed” against his client, adding that he will consult the case and consider whether or not to request the opening of an investigation, an optional phase that aims to decide by a criminal investigating judge whether the process follows and in what format for judgment.
Odair Moniz, a 43-year-old Cape Verdean citizen and resident of the Zambujal neighborhood, in Amadora, was shot by a PSP agent in the early hours of October 21, in the Cova da Moura neighborhood, in the same municipality, district of Lisbon, and died shortly afterwards, at the São Francisco Xavier Hospital, in Lisbon.
According to the official version of the PSP, the man “fled” by car after seeing a police vehicle and crashed in Cova da Moura, where, when approached by the officers, “he resisted arrest and tried to attack them with the use of a bladed weapon”.
The SOS Racismo association and the Vida Justa movement contested the police version and demanded a “serious and impartial” investigation to determine responsibilities, considering that “a culture of impunity” in the police is at stake.
This week there were riots in Zambujal and other neighborhoods in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, where buses, cars and trash cans were burned and vandalized, resulting in around two dozen arrests and many other suspects identified.
In addition to the legal proceedings, disciplinary proceedings are underway at the General Inspectorate of Internal Administration (IGAI) and the PSP.
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