Lisbon, June 12, 2025 (Lusa) - Portugal's minister for internal affairs expressed her "absolute condemnation" on Thursday of the attack on the theatre company A Barraca, calling it "an unacceptable act" and reiterating the government's commitment to security, leaving punishment for this crime to the courts.
In a statement outside the Jerónimos Monastery, where the ceremony marking the 40th anniversary of Portugal's accession to the European Communities took place, Maria Lúcia Amaral highlighted three points about this attack by a far-right group, without answering further questions from the media.
"Firstly, what happened yesterday [Tuesday], its connotations, its motives, its nature, is an absolutely unacceptable act in a country like Portugal. First point, something that can have no other purpose than absolute repudiation," she said.
Secondly, the minister said that the government's commitment is to prevent, avoid and do everything possible to ensure that this type of act, when committed, when unavoidable, can be duly punished through community policing that guarantees the safety and integrity of people and property.
"Thirdly and finally, when crimes are committed, as was the case in a country like Portugal, which is a state governed by the rule of law, it is up to the justice system and the courts, under the law, to duly prosecute and punish the criminals," she said.
Journalists tried to ask Maria Lúcia Amaral further questions, but the minister repeated her thanks to the media: "That's all I have to say for now, I'm leaving."
On Tuesday, Portugal Day, an actor from the theatre company A Barraca, Adérito Lopes, was attacked by a group of far-right extremists in Lisbon as he was entering the free performance of "Amor é fogo que arde sem se ver" (Love is a fire that burns without being seen), a tribute to Camões.
Speaking to the Lusa news agency, the company's director, actress and director Maria do Céu Guerra, said that the attack took place around 8 p.m., when the actors were arriving at Cinearte, in Largo de Santos, and, at the door, they came across "a group of neo-Nazis with posters and leaflets" with various xenophobic slogans, who began by provoking one of the actresses.
"Meanwhile, the other actors were arriving. Two were provoked and a third was violently assaulted, leaving him with an injured eye and a large cut on his face," reported Maria do Céu Guerra.
A source from the PSP told Lusa that they were called to Largo de Santos at 8:15 p.m. due to "reports of assaults," where they were contacted by a 45-year-old man who "reported that, upon leaving his vehicle, he was assaulted by an individual."
The PSP, with the description of the suspect provided by the victim and a friend, began searching the streets around Largo de Santos and managed to find and stop a 20-year-old man suspected of being the attacker, the same source said.
The PSP identified those involved in the case - the suspect, the victim and the witness - and will report all the facts to the Public Prosecutor's Office.
SMA/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
