I live in Lisbon – this is what it’s like as rioters ignite ‘fear’ | World | News
Unrest swept across Lisbon for a third night running following the killing of a Cape Verdean man on late Sunday night.
Portugal’s capital saw another night of rioting into the early hours of Wednesday morning, triggered by the death of Odair Moniz. The protests were against the police who shot and killed the 43-year-old man.
The first night of disorder occurred in the Zambujal neighbourhood, where Moniz lived. “The riots are primarily taking place in underprivileged areas, particularly in public housing districts. Buses have been pelted with stones or set on fire, and trash bins have also been torched,” says Mário Rui André, local journalist from Lisboa Para Pessoas (LPP).
Unrest started on Monday night and “by Tuesday and Wednesday nights, the protests had spread to other neighbourhoods, likely because the tension escalated,” says André.
“This kind of violence is the only way they feel they can be heard.”
According to the latest police reports from Portugal’s police force (PSP), three people have been arrested for the disturbance. Two police officers were injured in the municipalities of Amadora and Oeiras as a result of stone-throwing.
The PSP also reports that two passengers on one of the buses that was set on fire were stabbed. “The violence and fires” have “generated some fear,” explains André.
The riots have been occurring “mostly at night” as the “surrounding areas continue to function normally” in the daytime, he adds.
The death of Odair Moniz took place after police “intercepted an individual who had been fleeing from the police” in the Alto neighbourhood of Cova da Moura, according to PSP reports.
The police said that when the officers “approached the suspect, he resisted arrest and tried to assault them with a weapon”, adding that “one of the police officers, having exhausted other means and efforts”, used a firearm and shot the suspect.
The suspect was assisted at the scene and taken to a local hospital, but died shortly after. The officer who shot Moniz is now under investigation, according to Portugal’s national criminal investigation police agency.
“There needs to be a response from both the police and the government to calm the population, showing empathy and solidarity regarding what happened so that people feel heard and included. This could prevent further escalation,” says André.
Discussing if the city will see more unrest tonight, he adds: “My sense is that things will calm down. The incidents we’ve seen so far are essentially follow-ups to the first two nights, where the focus was on Zambujal, where Odair was from.”
