The president of the National Union of the Prison Guards Corps (SNCGP), Frederico Morais, criticized the dismissal of charges against the director of Vale de Judeus Prison while disciplinary actions were taken against seven guards, with two suspended from duties and fines imposed on the remaining five.
“It is regrettable that the directors’ association had the power to dismiss, but nothing surprises us, as we had the case of the chief’s dismissal during the process,” he noted.
“Institutional power prevailed over the prison guard corps. This is a conspiracy, a serious and severe pursuit against the prison guard corps,” he accused. SNCGP has requested an external investigation into the incident that occurred on September 7 last year, when the fugitives escaped from Vale de Judeus, Alcoentre (Azambuja), identified as Argentinian Rodolfo Lohrmann, British Mark Roscaleer, Georgian Shergili Farjiani, and Portuguese nationals Fábio Loureiro and Fernando Ribeiro Ferreira.
The inmates, all since recaptured, were serving sentences ranging from seven to 25 years for crimes including drug trafficking, criminal association, robbery, kidnapping, and money laundering.
The nine disciplinary procedures initiated by the prison services against seven guards, one chief, and one director of Vale de Judeus following the escape of five inmates concluded with two dismissals, two suspensions, and five fines.
Lusa | 07:10 – 06/09/2025
The disciplinary actions followed a report by the Audit and Inspection Service (SAI) of the Directorate-General for Reintegration and Prison Services (DGRSP), which highlighted in the case of the former prison director, Horácio Ribeiro, the “violation of the general duties of pursuing public interest, diligence, and loyalty,” emphasizing that the official, serving in a temporary capacity at the time of the escape, “failed to ensure compliance with security and surveillance guidelines, particularly in the approval of staff schedules.”
Concerning the head of the prison guards, the report concluded it was his responsibility to ensure security and surveillance on that day, notably in deciding on the physical and video surveillance schedules of the inner yards.
Nonetheless, these two cases were dismissed.
“It was intentional to convict us. I regret that the minister got caught up in this power game of the Directorate-General [of Reintegration and Prison Services],” critiques Frederico Morais.
Hermínio Barradas, president of the Union of Chiefs of the Prison Guards Corps, concurs that “the first institution to be targeted by a disciplinary process, for having created the conditions [for the escape], should be the directorate-general.”
Naming the environment conducive to serious issues, the official added: “They allow the system to be deficient, obsolete, bankrupt.”
In this context, the “probability of undesirable phenomena such as the escape” is significantly high, he assesses, noting that the staffing at Vale de Judeus that day was “below 40%” of what was appropriate.
“It’s a tremendous injustice to attempt to blame people who carry out their tasks under the conditions provided by the Government,” he points out.
“Obviously, we’re going to appeal. We won’t be silent, and we will go wherever we need,” assured Frederico Morais, while being “aware” that the appeal will reach the DGRSP.
“It’s the same as doing nothing,” he foresaw, revealing plans to bring the case to the European Union and Portuguese MEPs to expose “the disgrace in the Portuguese prison system and the conspiracy and persecution by the directorate-general against the prison guard corps.”
A year after the escape of five inmates from Vale de Judeus, the installation of signal inhibitors for telecommunications and drones is underway for that prison and should be completed by the end of the year.
Lusa | 07:09 – 06/09/2025
According to Frederico Morais, only the lawyer of the SNCGP was notified, not the guards yet.
The union leader mentioned that the heavier penalties—20-day suspensions—were given to the head of service and the guard in charge of video surveillance (CCTV).
The case of a guard who took over the CCTV from another was dismissed as this shift occurred “after the escape,” he noted, adding that fines were imposed on the wing chief (400 euros) and four other guards in the pavilion where the escape happened (ranging from 200 to 240 euros).
Meanwhile, the current Government “has no solution” for prisons, and the prison guard career is losing its appeal, states Hermínio Barradas.
“Any citizen who sees this kind of news and events would have to be crazy to consider entering such a profession,” he observes.
