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What to do

Take to the streets, write to those who can act, sign, and join the people already organising.

If you only have two minutes

  1. Sign the petition asking the Ombudsman to take the 00:30 limit to the Constitutional Court.Sign
  2. Come on Tuesday 27 at 6:30 pm to Parliament.See the protests
  3. Write to the President before the Council of State on 2 November.See the letter

Next protests

  1. 7 pmevery day

    Popular assemblies

    Lisbon, Rossio · Porto, Praça D. João I and nearby

    This is where the camps decide their next steps. You can go, listen and speak.

  2. 26and 27 Oct

    Vigils for those arrested

    Monday 26 at 1:30 pm · Tuesday 27 at 10 am · Campus de Justiça, Lisbon

    The dozens of people arrested on 20 and 25 October will be heard by a judge on these two days. Acampada de Lisboa asks anyone who can to be there, so that nobody faces the process alone. The exact building is still to be announced.

    Poster for the vigils at Campus de JustiçaSee on Instagram →
  3. 27Oct · Tue

    Everyone to Parliament

    6:30 pm · Assembleia da República, Lisbon · Casa para Viver

    A rally against police violence and demanding accountability.

    Poster for the rally «Everyone to Parliament»See on Instagram →
  4. 14Nov · Sat

    Casa para Viver national demonstration

    3 pm · in several cities
    • Lisbon · Alameda D. Afonso Henriques
    • Porto · Praça do Marquês
    • Coimbra · Ponte de Santa Clara
    • Viseu · Rossio
    • Viana do Castelo · Praça da República, 3:30 pm
    • Braga, Leiria and Portalegre · venue to be announced
    Poster for the 14 November national demonstrationSee on Instagram →

If you go to a camp: staying after a dispersal order can lead to arrest and a disobedience charge. Ask the movements' legal teams first, especially if your residence status could be affected.

Petitions to sign

Review of the 00:30 limit

Asks the Ombudsman to take article 11 of Decree-Law 406/74, the part that sets a time limit on outdoor demonstrations, to the Constitutional Court. It is the petition that goes straight at the basis for the arrests. The form is in Portuguese, but it only asks for your name and email.

To
Ombudsman
Sign

For the right to housing

Asks for the new rental law (Bill 103/XVII) to be rejected and for urgent measures for affordable rents.

To
Speaker of Parliament
Sign

More public housing

Petition by the Porta a Porta movement for more public housing and an end to the housing crisis.

By
Porta a Porta – Casa Para Todos
Sign

Write to those who can act

To the President of the Republic

The President doesn't command the police, but can speak out and call on the government to explain itself. Social cohesion, which includes housing, is on the agenda of the Council of State on 2 November. Ask him to include the charges too: thousands of letters before that date are hard to ignore.

Online
"Escreva ao Presidente" form on the Presidency's website
Post
Palácio de Belém, Calçada da Ajuda, 1349-022 Lisboa
Phone
213 614 600
▸ Read the template letter (in Portuguese)

The letter is in Portuguese so you can send it as it is. It says you are concerned about the police operations of 15, 20 and 25 October, that the 00:30 limit comes from a 1974 decree that jurists question under the Constitution, and asks the President to speak out, to raise the issue at the Council of State on 2 November, to ask the government who ordered the operations, and to defend the right to demonstrate. Add a sentence of your own at the end, in English if you prefer.

Exmo. Senhor Presidente da República, Escrevo-lhe como cidadão/cidadã, preocupado/a com as intervenções policiais contra as acampadas pela habitação em Lisboa e no Porto, nas madrugadas de 15, 20 e 25 de outubro. Houve dezenas de feridos e 86 detenções de pessoas que se manifestavam pacificamente. A PSP justificou estas operações com o limite das 00h30 do Decreto-Lei 406/74, aprovado em 1974, antes da Constituição. O artigo 45.º da Constituição garante o direito de reunião e de manifestação sem necessidade de autorização, e juristas de diferentes áreas põem em causa que aquele limite seja compatível com ela. Peço-lhe que se pronuncie publicamente sobre a proporcionalidade destas intervenções, que leve o tema ao Conselho de Estado de 2 de novembro com a atenção que merece, que peça ao Governo que esclareça quem as ordenou e com que fundamento, e que defenda a Constituição que jurou cumprir e fazer cumprir, incluindo o direito de manifestação. [Uma ou duas frases tuas: o que viste, porque te importa] Com os melhores cumprimentos, [Nome]
  2. 2. Paste it into the form

To the Ombudsman

The Ombudsman (Provedora de Justiça), Luísa Neto, is elected by Parliament and independent from the government. She can ask the Constitutional Court to review the 00:30 limit. You can complain even if you weren't there. Complaints are free but cannot be anonymous. Write in Portuguese if you can; a translation tool is fine.

Online
"Submeter queixa" form
Email
[email protected]
Post
Palácio Vilalva, Rua Marquês de Fronteira, 1069-452 Lisboa
Free line
800 200 084
File a complaint

To IGAI

The General Inspectorate of Internal Administration oversees the police and is already investigating the 15 October charge in Porto. Only describe what you saw or experienced; if you weren't there, say so in the complaint.

Go to the IGAI website (Complaints section)

Report to organisations and international bodies

Send your account to Amnesty

Amnesty International Portugal had observers on the ground and is investigating. If you witnessed the charges, were injured or have videos, send them your account with the date, time, place and what you saw. If you have videos or photos, don't attach them: put a link to the post or a shared folder in the email, and keep the original file on your phone, because Amnesty may ask for it to verify.

Email
[email protected]
Phone
213 861 652
Send your account by email

Commissioner for Human Rights

Of the Council of Europe, which Portugal belongs to. Doesn't decide individual complaints, but receives information on rights violations and can speak out publicly or write to the Portuguese government. On the page, look for "Contact".

See how to get in touch

UN Special Rapporteur

On the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. Accepts communications about specific cases and can ask the Portuguese state for explanations, which are made public. On the page, look for "Submit a communication".

See how to submit

What about the European Ombudsman? It only handles complaints against EU institutions, not against a member state's police. For this case, the right route is the Portuguese Ombudsman.

Join the movements

Acampada de Lisboa pela Habitação

In Rossio since 17 October. Daily popular assemblies at 7 pm.

@acampada.lisboa

Acampada do Porto pela Habitação

In Praça D. João I since 10 October. Daily popular assemblies at 7 pm.

@acampadaporto[email protected]

Casa para Viver

National platform of housing collectives. Organises the 27 October rally and the 14 November demonstration.

@casaparaviver.ptFacebook

Porta a Porta – Casa Para Todos

Movement for the right to housing, with local groups in several cities.

Join@portaaportadh

Vida Justa

Neighbourhood movement on the cost of living and decent housing.

@vidajusta.ptvidajusta.org

This site does not belong to any of these movements or speak for them. Dates and places may change: check the movements' pages before you go.