The 20-year-old man who assaulted actor Adérito Lopes near the Teatro A Barraca in Lisbon on June 10, Portugal Day, has been named a defendant, the Attorney General’s Office confirmed to Notícias ao Minuto on Thursday, July 3.
The suspect, allegedly part of a neo-Nazi group, was named a defendant and subjected to a measure of identity and residence coercion on Monday, June 30.
The case is under judicial secrecy; however, before the judge, the assailant reportedly repeated the public version of events, claiming he attacked the actor because he thought he was insulted when passing by the theater, and insisted that he has no ties to the neo-Nazi group with whom he had lunch before the incident.
In an interview following the attack on Adérito Lopes, the suspect claimed that the day before the assault, he had been drinking with friends and ended up staying at one of their houses.
The next day, June 10, the same friend invited him to a lunch attended by dozens of neo-Nazis. The young man assures he was unaware of this fact and expressed remorse. However, he left the lunch with some members of the Blood and Honour group — linked to those convicted for the racially-motivated murder of Alcindo Monteiro, 30 years ago — to attend another dinner.
He allegedly punched actor Adérito Lopes during this journey.
“It’s completely false”
To the same publication, Ricardo Sá Fernandes, one of Adérito Lopes’ lawyers, stated that “it’s completely false” that the actor insulted the assailant, stressing that “it was a completely gratuitous assault.”
The incident occurred on Portugal Day, outside Teatro A Barraca. Actor Adérito Lopes was assaulted by a far-right group in Lisbon while entering the show ‘Love is a burning fire unseen,’ a tribute to Camões.
Maria do Céu Guerra, director of the company and actress, reported that the assault took place around 8 PM as the actors arrived at Cinearte in Largo de Santos, and were confronted by “a group of neo-Nazis with posters and programs” who initially provoked one of the actresses.
At the time, the Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed to Lusa the opening of an investigation into the assault on the actor.
Meanwhile, Adérito Lopes, together with former Education Minister João Costa, wrote an opinion piece in the weekly Expresso titled “We will not live in the fear they want to impose.”
On June 10, the day “we savored the candid words of Lídia Jorge and the clear warning of the President of the Republic,” was also the day “one of the authors of this text was brutally assaulted by a neo-Nazi,” wrote Adérito Lopes and João Costa in the joint article.
They concluded: “They want us to be afraid. But we are not.”
Adérito Lopes was allegedly punched with brass knuckles, causing facial injuries that required stitches.
