The Lisbon Court of Appeal has upheld the conviction of a young university student to a sentence of seven years and nine months for cyberbullying.
The student, sentenced in February of this year, had appealed the initial ruling.
The young woman, under 30 at the time of the incidents, harassed several people over two years through emails, text messages, and phone calls.
The judgment document, dated November 20, states that the panel of judges found that “the issued ruling contains no nullities, errors, or misjudgments in facts or law.”
Thus, “it is necessary to confirm it in its entirety,” the judges highlighted, thereby “completely dismissing the appeal lodged” by the defendant.
In remarks to CNN Portugal, the lawyer for some of the victims deemed the decision “fair, well-founded, and an acknowledgment that cybercrimes can be as severe as other crimes.”
What actually happened?
The events reportedly began on March 20, 2019, when the university student started harassing several individuals, with one young woman as the main target. The accused created fake social media profiles, such as on Tinder—a dating app—leading the main victim to receive numerous contacts from strangers.
The university student approached the main victim, offered help, and claimed to be a target as well. This allowed her to learn about the victim’s actions.
It’s noteworthy that the defendant consistently denied being responsible for the actions, both before and during the trial. The university student was previously involved in a similar, smaller-scale case, which led to an investigation closed in 2015.
The conviction
According to CNN Portugal, the panel of judges noted inconsistencies in the defendant’s statements, observing her demeanor as distant, disengaged, and lacking spontaneity. In contrast, the victims’ testimonies were seen as clarifying and genuine.
Considering the victims’ testimonies and documentary evidence, the judges ruled that the incidents described in the charges genuinely occurred.
Given the defendant’s age—under 30—at the time of the crimes, her case was covered by the Amnesty Law, leading to the extinction of 122 crimes.
Nevertheless, the defendant was ultimately sentenced, by legal accumulation of sentences, to seven years and nine months in prison for 18 crimes, including seven counts of stalking, eight counts of computer fraud, and three counts of false accusation.
An appeal was subsequently filed with the Lisbon Court of Appeal, which has now confirmed the initial sentence. The young university student now has ten days to appeal to the Constitutional Court.
It is noteworthy that this is the most severe sentence for a cyberbullying crime ever handed down by the Portuguese judiciary.
[Updated at 17:32]
