The daughter of Ihor Homeniuk, a Ukrainian citizen who was assaulted and killed at Lisbon Airport by three inspectors of the now-defunct Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras (SEF) in 2020, has filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of Internal Administration (MAI) in the Administrative Court of Lisbon.
Veronika Homeniuk, 19, claims that the ministry has failed to provide compensation promised by Maria Lúcia Amaral, who was the Ombudsperson at the time of the incident. In December 2020, Amaral formally proposed that the Portuguese State pay an annual sum of 3,375 euros to support the educational expenses of Ihor’s daughter. This arrangement, included in a document drafted by the then Ombudsperson, stipulated the funds would be accessed starting in 2025.
What’s in the court order?
The court order against the ministry states that the Council of Ministers’ resolution from December 2020 approved the state’s liability towards Ihor Homeniuk’s family. It was determined that the payment would be covered by SEF, which was dissolved two years ago, thereby transferring the responsibility to the Ministry of Internal Administration.
The young woman’s mother received more than 130,000 euros from the state for both material and non-material damages. However, the annual payment of 3,375 euros has yet to be received, which was adjusted to 3,888 euros due to inflation and the increased cost of living between 2020 and 2025.
“The Portuguese government showed no willingness to make the payment”
In an interview with SIC Notícias, José Gaspar Schwalbach, the family’s lawyer, explained why the action was directed at the Ministry of Internal Administration. “We filed this motion against MAI because, at the time, the Council of Ministers’ resolution in December 2020 entrusted the then Ombudsperson with deciding the fair compensation for the relatives of this citizen who came to our country and passed away here,” he stated.
He added: “The truth is that, five years after the sum was set and the conditions for payment were outlined, it appears there was no intention from the Portuguese government, specifically MAI, to make the payment, the annual allowance, that should be due to the daughter as long as she remained in education.”
The lawyer noted that the condition was that the children continued their studies and would have the right to an annual allowance until they turned 28 to cover educational expenses like books, tuition, and accommodation.
“The proposal presented by the Ombudsperson included an initial payment—which was indeed made—that covered all expenses and compensations to which they were entitled, until the children reached 18 years of age. From then on, if they continued their education, there would be an annual allowance, symbolizing the support a parent would provide when a child goes to university,” he elaborated.
José Gaspar Schwalbach highlighted that since Veronika turned 18 in May last year, they have been trying to contact the Ombudsperson—who now serves as the Minister of Internal Administration—to determine the appropriate contact point for presenting documentation and maintaining communications over the coming years.
“Despite the current MAI taking office in this XXV Constitutional Government, up until the beginning of this year, specifically in December 2024 when we approached the Ombudsperson, the response was complete silence,” he said.
The lawyer further questioned the steps taken by the current minister during her tenure as Ombudsperson to establish a contact point, emphasizing that there has been no response since the last request in 2024.
The Expresso reports having reached out to the Ministry of Internal Administration to understand the case’s current status.
In a statement, MAI asserts that “the Portuguese State already paid a global compensation of 712,950 euros to the victim’s family in January 2021, with more than 99% of the total amount fully settled.” However, the family’s attorney disputed this information during the SIC Notícias interview.
The ministry emphasized that “a remaining annual amount of 3,375 euros, meant to support academic formation, has yet to be paid,” attributing the delay to the necessary coordination between administrative entities following the SEF’s dissolution, assuring that it does not reflect any lack of commitment by the State to this obligation, and the sum will be paid.
The Ihor Homeniuk case
Ihor Homeniuk, aged 40, died of asphyxiation on March 12, 2020, after being beaten and left lying handcuffed in an EECIT room by three SEF inspectors. Duarte Laja, Luís Silva, and Bruno Sousa were sentenced in 2021 by the Central Criminal Court of Lisbon to nine years in prison for aggravated bodily harm resulting in death and are currently serving their sentences.
The then head of SEF at the time of Homeniuk’s death at Lisbon Airport in 2020 was sentenced to two and a half years of suspended imprisonment.
