Two defendants have been fined €1,440 and €1,350 respectively for the crime of insult, while a third defendant has been sentenced to a seven-month suspended prison term for physically assaulting a PSP officer by pulling her hair.
Charges of physical assault and aggravated threats against Gouveia e Melo and Ferro Rodrigues were not proven, resulting in the acquittal of the remaining seven defendants.
The court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to prove the defendants committed the alleged crime of physical assault, as stated by Judge Sandra Carneiro regarding the attempted aggressions against Gouveia e Melo and Ferro Rodrigues.
Judge Sandra Carneiro noted that the court’s decision considered video evidence, which was reviewed thoroughly during deliberation.
The trial began in June, following a December 2024 decision by the Lisbon Central Court of Instruction to bring 10 of the 12 individuals accused by the Public Prosecutor to trial for attempted aggravated physical assault, aggravated insult, aggravated threat, and consummated damage.
The charges pertain to incidents during the pandemic. In one instance, in August 2021, protestors shouted “murderer” and “genocidal” at Gouveia e Melo, then head of the COVID-19 vaccination task force, near a vaccination center in Odivelas.
The court determined it was impossible to identify the defendants as those responsible for the insults and assaults using the video evidence presented.
Another incident occurred a month later near parliament, where protestors called then-Speaker of the Assembly Ferro Rodrigues “pedophile” and “disgusting” as he walked to a nearby restaurant with his wife.
Judge Sandra Carneiro emphasized that in a protest, attacking someone’s honor and reputation with words like “pedophile” is unnecessary, calling it a personal attack and an uncontextualized criticism.
The Public Prosecutor initially charged 12 individuals; however, some requested further investigation. Judge Sofia Marinho Pires subsequently declined to prosecute two of the individuals accused of attempted qualified physical assault against then-Admiral Gouveia e Melo.
During the trial, Gouveia e Melo, who is now a presidential candidate, recalled the insults but not physical assaults.
“When I arrived by car, I noticed a gathering of people at the entrance. Upon recognition, they began chanting slogans and insults,” the former admiral recounted.
At the Public Prosecutor’s request, Gouveia e Melo recalled the insults he heard upon arrival: “child killer, genocidal, and an insult aimed at my mother.” He noted that there was no physical violence then.
