Portugal: Police violence against peaceful housing protesters must be investigated

Initial reports suggest that the police deployed excessive force to disperse a peaceful protest camp in Porto, Portugal, in the early hours of 15 October that injured 37 people, said Amnesty International in a statement today.

“Reports of police violence against people peacefully protesting Portugal’s housing crisis are deeply troubling. People have the right to protest peacefully, including the right to occupy public space and including at night-time. The Portuguese authorities must respect and protect that right.

“Dispersal of peaceful protests must be a last resort. Reports that police beat protesters with batons resulting in dozens of people being injured, including a person with a disability, raise serious concerns that the use of force was disproportionate,” said João Godinho Martins, Executive Director of Amnesty International Portugal.

Reports that police beat protesters with batons resulting in dozens of people being injured, including a person with a disability, raise serious concerns that the use of force was disproportionate.”

João Godinho Martins, Executive Director of Amnesty International Portugal

On 10 October, people started to gather in Porto’s Praça D. João I to protest against the unaffordability of housing in Portugal, inspired by protests in Spain following the eviction of Maricarmen Abascal. Protestors initially set up 50 tents to occupy the square and, according to media reports, described the peaceful action as “an act of political desperation”.

On the morning of 12 October, Portuguese police ordered protesters to remove tents, citing an “unauthorized occupation of public property”. Police subsequently removed and confiscated the tents and belongings, according to protesters in contact with Amnesty International.

The protest continued and on 12 October the activists notified Porto City Council of their intention to continue their demonstration. Porto mayor Pedro Duarte responded by saying that he would take an “absolutely uncompromising” stance against attempts to set up tents in the square.

At around 2.30am on 15 October, roughly 40 police officers arrived at Praça D. João I to disperse the protest. Portuguese law includes a problematic blanket ban on night-time protests that runs contrary to the right to protest.

According to activists and their lawyers, the police intervention resulted in 35 people sustaining minor injuries and two people sustaining serious injuries, including head injuries, a broken arm and a broken wrist. A person with a disability was among those injured. Portuguese media also reported that several people were taken to hospital.

The Porto fire service reportedly assisted eight people in total and transferred two to hospital. Tomás Varela, a protester who received treatment at Santo António Hospital, reported being struck on the head with a baton and requiring nine stitches.

The police described the operation as a “heavy-handed intervention” and said it was prompted by protesters’ resistance to removing the tents.

“From evidence we have verified online and from interviewing protesters and witnesses at the scene, Amnesty International is concerned that the Portuguese police used excessive (and thus unlawful) force against peaceful protesters.

“The Portuguese authorities must ensure an independent, impartial and effective investigation into the police operation. Anyone found responsible for unlawful use of force must be held accountable. The authorities must also fully protect the right to protest, including at night-time,” said João Godinho Martins.

Background

Portugal is one of the European countries most affected by the housing crisis. House prices hit a new high in 2025, and were the highest in the eurozone. In Lisbon, the share of salary spent on rent is 116% meaning rent surpasses the average salary by 16%.

Access to affordable housing continues to be a serious and persistent problem, with almost 13% of the Portuguese population living in overcrowded households.

The right to housing is enshrined in Article 65 of the Portuguese Constitution which states that “everyone has the right, for themselves and their family, to housing of an adequate size, in conditions of hygiene and comfort, and which preserves personal privacy and family privacy”.

The right to adequate housing is also enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, to which Portugal is a state party. Affordability is a key component of the right to adequate housing.

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