According to the decree published in the Diário da República on March 19, the crime of simple bodily harm against security force agents and prison guards will now be punishable by one to four years in prison, which previously did not exceed three years.
If the assault on these professionals is deemed to be aggravated bodily harm, the maximum applicable sentence increases from four to five years in prison.
In incidents classified as the crime of resistance and coercion against an official—defined in the Penal Code as acts where violence is used to prevent an official from performing their duties, such as making an arrest—the penalty range changes from one to five years in prison to one to eight years.
This offense, which has previously protected members of the Armed Forces, militarized or security agencies, will now also include prison guards, firefighters, and other Civil Protection agents.
Firefighters and other Civil Protection agents, public transportation inspectors, and any worker in the health and education sectors will also be added to the list of professionals against whom an assault may be considered as demonstrating “special censure or perversity,” and may be classified as aggravated bodily harm, though only with a penalty of up to four years in prison.
Teachers, doctors, prison guards, employees of the Tax Authority and Customs and the Tax and Customs Authority of the Autonomous Region of Madeira, and public transportation inspectors will also be exempt from court costs when offenses occur in the course of their duties.
This exemption previously applied to police and other security forces, a right that remains in place.
