Underground holding cells, with abysmal conditions, are being used to hold undocumented immigrants who should be placed in Temporary Installation Centres (TICs), awaiting judicial decisions on whether they should be deported.
This is the opening sentence of a story in Correio da Manhã today which refers to a chronic lack of space in TICs (of which the country really only has one, in Porto, as well as four ‘equipped spaces’ at the airports of Lisbon, Faro and Beja).
The problems, says CM, are being felt “from north to south”, particularly due to the apprehension of foreigners involved in drug trafficking. “Last week there were at least 15 immigrants in PSP and GNR cells.
“In the Algarve, for example, the GNR caught two illegal immigrants, and for the last 10 days-plus they have been held in cells with minimum conditions. As they had no documents, the court decreed that they should be held in one of the centres spread across the country for the period of 60 days. Due to the lack of available spaces, both are in GNR dungeons – one in Lagoa, the other in São Brás de Alportel.”
Lawyer, Pedro Pestana, has put in a plea of Habeas Corpus (an urgent judicial measure against unlawful detention/ imprisonment), for at least one of the men, so it may be that they end up being released – but the paper refers to a number of other similar instances, in Setúbal and Leiria.
Regarding the situation in the Algarve, Pedro Pestana stresses that the lack of spaces in the country’s TICs “cannot be a reason for perpetuating an illegal detention.
“By keeping a defendant in the dungeons of the GNR, the truth is that an illegal imprisonment is taking place,” he explains. “The cells do not possess minimum conditions. They could not be considered either a Temporary Installation Centre, or an Equipped Space. My client has been housed in the dungeons of the Lagoa GNR since October 9, “ Pestana added – stressing that the man’s “rights and guarantees are being violated”.
The two immigrants highlighted by CM were found earlier this month in the possession of jerrycans of fuel – almost certainly part of the logistics operations of drug traffickers who are using the south coast on a regular basis.
The paper adds that it has “seen an email”, describing the lack of available spaces in Temporary Installation Centres, and requesting that courts come up with a solution that can see immigrants deported, without having to sit out the statutory 60-days in a TIC.
It is either that, or releasing them, which has already caused problems in certain areas.
Source: Correio da Manhã
Natasha Donn
Journalist for the Portugal Resident.