Africa-Press – Cape verde. The Portuguese Minister of Internal Affairs, Margarida Blasco, confirmed today in Lisbon that investigations and inquiries are still ongoing at the General Inspectorate of Internal Administration (IGAI) into the death of Cape Verdean Odair Moniz.
The minister gave this information when interviewed by the parliamentary committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees of the Portuguese Assembly of the Republic, to clarify the death of Odair Moniz, in Cova da Moura, in October 2024, and the police operation by the Public Security Police (PSP) in Martim Moniz, Lisbon, in December last year.
“At this time, investigations are still ongoing at the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the IGAI into the possible criminal and disciplinary responsibilities for this unfortunate event. We have to wait for the investigation to be concluded”, said Margarida Blasco, who stressed that the issue of the death of the Cape Verdean citizen “cannot be linked to acts of vandalism that occurred later”. The government official lamented the death of Odair Moniz, considering that attempts to take political advantage of “these social tensions”, particularly urban crime, “are completely irresponsible”, and that the episodes of contempt and violence that occurred in the following days in the Lisbon region have nothing to do with and cannot be justified by what happened. Odair Moniz, 43 years old, resident in the Zambujal neighbourhood, in the municipality of Amadora, was fatally shot by a PSP agent on 21 October, in the Cova da Moura neighbourhood, in the same municipality and where thousands of Cape Verdeans live. The incident triggered incidents in several communities in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, with cars, rubbish bins and several buses being set on fire, one of which seriously injured the driver. The authorities have opened investigations, but the conclusions are still unknown.
Following this, the Vida Justa Movement also called a demonstration in Lisbon, “Without justice there is no peace”, which brought thousands to Avenida da Liberdade, in Lisbon, to demand justice for the death of Odair Moniz.
Vida Justa has disputed the police version from the beginning, demanding an independent commission to investigate the incident, as has SOS Racismo, which condemned the death in Cova da Moura and criticised the PSP, stating that “Odair Moniz joins the long list of black people killed at the hands of the public security police”.
Regarding the police operation in Martim Moniz, on December 19, 2024, which gave rise to several criticisms, after several images showing dozens of immigrants leaning against the wall, with their hands in the air, waiting to be searched, the minister justified what happened, stressing that the Public Prosecutor’s Office authorized and accompanied the PSP on Rua do Benformoso.
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