An ex-soldier was sentenced to two years and four months in prison, suspended for a year, for violent hazing, while another received a fine of 1,920 euros for improper use of a weapon.
In addition to these penalties, the two defendants must pay 400 and 1,000 euros to a former soldier for the humiliation and fear endured.
Furthermore, the São João Novo court in Porto, where the trial took place, ordered seven ex-military personnel to jointly pay 3,000 euros in compensation to a victim of violent hazing.
The remaining three ex-military personnel were acquitted.
The case pertained to events allegedly committed between May 2018 and September 2019 by ten former military personnel specialized in Air Police. They were assigned to the K9 unit and Intervention Teams within the Protection and Security Squadron (EPA) at the time.
The two ex-soldiers, now 27 years old, and the defendants, aged between 28 and 35, have since left the Air Force.
Prosecutors argued that the ten ex-military personnel repeatedly executed a so-called “integration/teaching process” through coordinated efforts and a pre-devised plan.
Between May 2018 and September 2019, an investigation by the Porto’s Department of Investigation and Penal Action (DIAP) and the Military Judicial Police (PJM) found that the defendants often ordered the victims to consume dog food and liquids in the presence of other military members.
The investigation also noted that at night, the accused frequently commanded the victims to enter a canine transport cage, which was placed in a service vehicle, then driven around the BA5 perimeter on “rugged and uneven” terrain.
