The accounts were detailed by the Ombudsman, who released the figures today in the annual report of the National Prevention Mechanism, presented this morning to the Assembly of the Republic and pertaining to the year 2024.
From the first compensation paid in December 2019 until early March 2025—a period of just over five years—the Portuguese state paid 1,552,075 euros to inmates who claimed “the detention conditions they were subjected to in serving a prison sentence constituted a violation of the prohibition of torture,” according to the Ombudsman’s report.
Of this sum exceeding one million euros, 18%—approximately 273,000 euros—was due to condemnation by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), 52%—more than 800,000 euros—resulted from mutual agreement between the state and the complainant, and 30%—around 470,000 euros—from a proposal made by the Portuguese state and accepted by the ECHR.
In light of these numbers, the Ombudsman warned of the potential increase in compensation amounts, as the number of complaints related to mistreatment and poor conditions in prisons is also rising. This money “could be invested in improving the material conditions of the prison system,” the document states.
“The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has urged the Portuguese state to make concrete efforts to implement measures to combat overcrowding, warning that these cannot be limited to constructing new buildings,” the Ombudsman added in the report submitted today to parliament, alongside the activity report of this body.
This year, the Ombudsman conducted 50 monitoring visits to places where individuals are deprived of liberty, to assess the conditions they are in and the treatment they receive. In addition to visiting the country’s 10 largest prisons, visits were also made to the six educational centers, temporary detention centers for foreigners and equivalent spaces, psychiatric hospitals, and police detention posts and areas.
