A 26-year-old suspect, detained by the Polícia Judiciária (PJ), appeared today for the initial judicial hearing at the Almodôvar Court, located in the Beja district.
The court imposed the most severe coercive measure and the man was taken to Beja Prison, where he will await the proceedings.
The Polícia Judiciária announced today, in a statement, that the man is charged with forest fire crimes. He was identified and located by the GNR of Castro Verde and subsequently detained by members of the PJ’s Southern Directorate.
According to the PJ, the fire outbreaks were set in the early hours of Monday in the municipality of Castro Verde.
One of the fires was extinguished around 03:30 AM on Monday by firefighters from Castro Verde, Almodôvar, Alvalade, Aljustrel, and Ourique. It occurred in an area predominantly covered with low herbaceous and shrubby vegetation.
The PJ initiated investigative procedures after receiving information from the GNR about the case, which determined that the man “set five fire outbreaks along the EN2 between Castro Verde and Aljustrel.”
A police source clarified that the man detained by the PJ is not a suspect in the fire that broke out Monday afternoon in the Aljustrel municipality, which was controlled shortly before 21:30.
This fire erupted in a forest area at Monte do Cerro, near Messejana, deploying six aerial units and over 250 operatives, also consuming a large grazing area.
