“Obviously we will appeal. There was a substantial change in the facts, and the judge did not even give the defendant time to respond,” commented Abdul Bashir’s lawyer, Fátima Pires, outside the Lisbon Central Criminal Court.
This view, suggesting that the sentence is void, was supported by the representative of one of the victims involved in the case, Miguel Matias.
In the final arguments of the trial, the Public Prosecutor’s Office had maintained the accusation that Abdul Bashir, 30, is not criminally responsible and requested that he be institutionalized rather than imprisoned for a minimum of three years.
However, the panel of judges determined that the Afghan citizen was aware of right and wrong during the knife attack at the Ismaili Center and sentenced him to 25 years in prison for two counts of aggravated homicide, three of attempted homicide, one of resistance and coercion against an official, and one of illegal possession of a weapon.
In delivering the judgment, the presiding judge justified the decision with the expertise of a forensic psychologist, which was “supported by the evidence produced” and contradicted the findings of a psychiatrist cited by the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Outside the court, the defendant’s lawyer reiterated that he is not criminally responsible, “is not prepared for a normal prison” and poses a danger to himself and others.
The crime dates back to March 28, 2023, and the victims were two women, aged 24 and 49, who worked in refugee support services at the Ismaili Center.
Today, the mother of the younger victim, who wept upon hearing the judge’s description of the repeated stabbing of her daughter, stated that “some justice was done” with Abdul Bashir’s maximum prison sentence.
“Today I leave with a slightly lighter heart,” she expressed.
Previously under preventive detention, the defendant will now be placed in preventive incarceration by court order as the process continues.
