“We consider this decision not only fair but historic. It is a clear signal that police violence does not go unpunished. It is, above all, a victory for Cláudia Simões but also a message to all victims of police violence that they can trust our courts,” stated lawyers Leonor Caldeira and Luísa Teixeira da Mota in a statement.
The Lisbon Court of Appeal (TRL) has partially overturned the initial ruling, which had acquitted PSP officer Carlos Canha of assaulting Cláudia Simões, sentencing him to a combined suspended prison term of five years.
This decision was announced today by the court in a statement, which also ordered the PSP officer to pay Cláudia Simões six thousand euros in compensation, to be fulfilled within two years and six months.
The TRL found, based on witness testimony and video evidence, that Cláudia Simões was assaulted inside a PSP vehicle by officer Carlos Canha, “which occurred in the presence of and without intervention by fellow officers Fernando Rodrigues and João Gouveia.”
“This decision restores the truth and corrects a grave injustice: the Court of Appeal recognized that the injuries sustained by Cláudia Simões, which outraged the nation and the diaspora, were inflicted by state agents — and not, as unjustly concluded by the initial court, self-inflicted,” the lawyers affirmed.
They also noted that the TRL condemned the three officers and the Portuguese State to pay a total of 22,750 euros in compensation for material and moral damages.
Lusa contacted Fátima de Oliveira Esteves, lawyer for officer Carlos Canha, who declined to comment on the TRL’s decision.
With today’s decision, officer Carlos Canha is now sentenced to a single term of five years in prison, suspended for the same period, in addition to compensations to Cláudia Simões.
The conviction for assaulting Cláudia Simões adds to the initial ruling, which sentenced him to three years in prison, suspended, for two counts of bodily harm and two counts of illegal detention relating to Quintino Gomes and Ricardo Botelho, who had been taken to the police station.
Officers João Gouveia and Fernando Rodrigues were each sentenced for one count of abuse of power to one year and six months in prison, suspended for the same period, and ordered to pay each, a thousand euros in compensation to Cláudia Simões within nine months.
On July 1, 2024, the Sintra court sentenced Cláudia Simões for biting PSP officer Carlos Canha, while the officer was acquitted of assault charges during her arrest but convicted for assaulting two other individuals at the precinct.
Officers Fernando Rodrigues and João Gouveia were acquitted of abuse of power, as the court found that the two officers called to the incident in Amadora did not act outside the law in their duties.
Judge Catarina Pires excluded racism as a motivation for the actions of the officers and the detention of Cláudia Simões.
The events date back to January 19, 2020, when Cláudia Simões, a professional cook, was involved in a disagreement between passengers and a bus driver from the Vimeca company after her eight-year-old daughter forgot her pass.
Upon arrival at their destination, the driver decided to call the police. Following moments of tension, officer Carlos Canha decided to restrain Cláudia Simões at the bus stop after she refused identification.
Carlos Canha was charged with three counts of qualified bodily harm, three counts of aggravated detention, one count of aggravated insult, and one count of abuse of power, while officers João Gouveia and Fernando Rodrigues faced charges of abuse of power for failing to act to prevent their colleague’s alleged assaults. Cláudia Simões was charged with one count of qualified bodily harm.
