A Death in Lisbon

Thousands of demonstrators marched in Lisbon over the weekend to protest police violence and demand justice following the fatal shooting of a man of Cape Verdean origins by police, after spiking tensions and several nights of unrest in immigrant neighborhoods last week, Euronews reported.

Protesters marched in central Lisbon, waving Cape Verdean flags and chanting slogans, such as “No peace without justice” and “Police violence, colonial heritage.”

Cape Verde, an island nation off the west coast of Africa, is a former colony of Portugal.

Saturday’s demonstration came a week after the fatal shooting of 43-year-old Odair Moniz in the early hours of Monday morning in Lisbon’s Cova da Moura neighborhood.

Police said Moniz was shot by an officer after allegedly attempting to flee and attacking officers with a knife. The officer has since been charged with manslaughter, but the official account is being disputed by residents who question the circumstances of the shooting, Agence France-Presse noted.

Many of Saturday’s demonstrators linked Moniz’s death to broader issues of racial violence and discrimination in the country.

Days after the shooting, Portuguese authorities recorded over 100 incidents of public disturbances in Lisbon, leading to more than 20 arrests and several injuries.

Lisbon rarely experiences such levels of unrest, said observers, adding that the riots underscore the deep frustrations in immigrant-heavy areas with police.

Meanwhile, the far-right Chega party held a counter-protest of about 200 people in support of the police. Chega leader André Ventura defended the officer’s actions, stating that the officer “should be decorated, not indicted.”