Thirteen detained at housing protests face a judge today; Council of State meets this afternoon at the president's palace
Thirteen people detained on the night of 1 November, when PSP police broke up protest camps demanding affordable housing, are appearing before a judge for the first time today, 2 November: seven in Porto at 10:00 at the summary criminal court (Tribunal de Pequena Instância Criminal), and six in Lisbon at 14:00 at the Campus de Justiça (Notícias ao Minuto). The lawyer Ricardo Sá Fernandes, one of those representing the protesters in Lisbon, said he would file a criminal complaint against the interior minister, Luís Neves, and the head of the PSP, Pedro Moura, arguing that the police used force unlawfully.
At 15:00 the Council of State (Conselho de Estado), an advisory body to the president, meets at the Palácio de Belém. President António José Seguro called the meeting on 23 October, with social cohesion as its subject (RTP). On Friday he said the country cannot move forward if some people cannot see a doctor in time or find a home. On Sunday, after the camps were cleared for the second time in a week, he asked the government and the ombudsman (Provedora de Justiça) to explain in detail what had happened overnight and what had become of those detained and injured (Notícias ao Minuto).
In Porto, protesters again put up around fifteen tents in Praça D. João I on Sunday night. The police did not order them to be removed, but at around 4:30am officers issued a warning, and the protesters took the tents down themselves for fear of another clearance (Observador). Rossio in Lisbon was almost empty in the morning. The next nationwide housing marches are planned for 14 November.
