Fábio Guerra’s mother has reacted to the acquittal of Clóvis, one of the three defendants accused of her son’s murder, following his death in March 2022 after an assault outside the Mome nightclub in Lisbon. The young officer died at the age of 26.
On social media, hours after the Court of Appeal’s decision was announced, Elsa Guerra questioned the state of justice in the country and labeled Clóvis “a murderer like the others.” The other two defendants, Cláudio Coimbra and Vadym Hrinko, were sentenced to 20 and 17 years in prison, respectively.
“I just feel like screaming. An unjust and revolting decision… Where is justice in our country? If we believed in justice, we believed, but now? He is a murderer like the others. Why was he on the run from justice? Because he was innocent? ‘I’m the king of Montijo’—does that mean anything? Walking away happy from where Fábio was assaulted means nothing? Well, he is alive and my son is not. That shows the person’s character. We want justice,” she wrote on her Facebook page.
Clóvis Abreu was sentenced to 14 years in prison last November for the crimes of qualified homicide, attempted homicide, and assault causing bodily harm. However, his sentence has now been reduced to six years after the Court of Appeal acquitted him of the charge of consummated qualified homicide, as it was not proven that he kicked the victim’s head.
However, Clóvis Abreu is still required to pay 184,000 euros in compensation to the victim’s family.
Clóvis was the third defendant to be convicted in the case of Fábio Guerra’s death. The Lisbon court previously determined that he acted in concert with Cláudio Coimbra and Vadym Hrinko, who were sentenced to 20 and 17 years in prison, respectively.
The incident that led to Fábio Guerra’s death took place in March 2022 outside the Mome nightclub in Lisbon. The 26-year-old officer succumbed to “severe brain injuries” on March 21 at Hospital de São José, resulting from the assault.
Cláudio Abreu surrendered to authorities in September 2023, more than a year after the crime. At that time, his lawyer stated he was unaware if his client had been in Spain during that period, claiming he had “never been on the run.” “He was never notified to appear,” the lawyer defended then.
