The three defendants, aged between 30 and 33, were convicted of two counts of aggravated assault with a single sentence of one year and four months in prison, suspended for two years under probation terms.
A fourth defendant, aged 29 and who was also one of the assaulted, received a sentence for simple physical assault, resulting in a 45-day fine totaling 270 euros. This penalty was pardoned under the law granting pardons and amnesties for offenses related to the 2023 World Youth Day.
During the early hours of June 18, 2023, assaults occurred near the Mandarim nightclub, which was temporarily closed by the Ministry of Internal Administration for public safety reasons.
A video accessible to Lusa news agency at the time shows two people lying on the ground being assaulted in the street near the establishment.
The Public Security Police stated in a communiqué that their presence was requested “due to clashes between security staff and customers” of the establishment.
The court found that an initial disagreement inside Mandarim occurred without the involvement of the two assaulted individuals.
However, the defendant, whose penalty was pardoned, removed his T-shirt, and when told he could not remain shirtless inside the club, he was escorted outside and subsequently assaulted another man.
Outside the nightclub, the three defendants with suspended sentences and another unidentified individual assaulted the victims. The court considered that they “intended to inflict physical pain and psychological distress, aware of the result due to the targeted and impacted body regions.”
The judges concluded that the assailants “acted with the intention, realized, of using their physical and numerical superiority” over the two victims.
The court’s ruling deemed the surveillance video footage from Mandarim, the city’s installed cameras, and, notably, the images collected by the Judiciary Police from ‘open sources’/social networks as “absolutely crucial and decisive.”
The footage depicting the public roadway incidents outside the establishment “is worth more than a thousand words,” allowing visualization of each defendant’s actions, specifically noting the shirtless and agitated defendant confronting others and physically assaulting the two victims.
The acuteness of the situation is underscored by scenes of the shirtless defendant “already on the ground” being kicked or punched across various body parts, including the head, as recorded in the ruling.
Regarding the other victim, the footage shows them being thrown to the ground and also receiving blows and kicks.
The testimonies of the defendants lacked credibility, as deemed by the court, because they were neither supported by the video evidence viewed nor by witness statements.
During the ruling’s reading, the presiding judge noted the defendants had no criminal records but highlighted that the footage depicted “clear and entirely excessive violence.”
The judicial magistrate described the incident as a “regrettable situation” perpetrated by individuals integrated within society, expected to contribute to collective peace, thus implying their behavior should have been different.
