Portugal
Capital city — Lisbon
Latest updates
There are designated places for physical activities and sports
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Twice a week, the chapel of the Linhó prison near Lisbon is transformed into a space where prisoners are encouraged to express their emotions through dance.
Life sentences are banned
The maximum penalty is 25 years.
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The President of the Assembly of the Republic, Augusto Santos Silva, decided to reject the Chega bill. The bill aimed to amend the Penal Code to restore life sentences for certain types of homicides. Augusto Santos Silva stated that the draft law “blatantly violates” the Constitution.
The prison staff is represented by (a) union(s)
The Sindicato Nacional do Corpo da Guarda Prisional (National Union of the Prison Guard Corps) is the majority union.
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During the second day of the all-out strike by heads of correctional operations, Monday 24 November, action was taken by all of the staff of the prison facilities of Guimarães, Elvas and Sintra. Essential services could therefore not be provided. The ASCCGP conceded that security was impacted in the affected facilities.
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The trade union association for commanding officers of prison officers (Associação Sindical de Chefias do Corpo da Guarda Prisional, ASCCGP) called on heads of correctional operations to participate in an all-out strike. The ASCCGP stated that the strike aims to create a new professional standing, regulate performance assessments for the corps of prison surveillance officers, open up the competitive exams to all categories, obtain danger money, and resolve structural problems within the prison system. During the first day of the strike, Friday 21 November, participants in the movement accounted for over 90% of the personnel from 12 prison facilities, including the prisons of Sintra, Elvas, Santa Cruz do Bispo (women’s prison), Lamego, Ourém, Vale de Judeus, Silves and Alcoentre. The president of the ASCCGP noted that essential services were still being provided, by two guards in each of the larger prisons and one guard in the smaller prisons.
Number and percentage of prisoners enrolled in vocational training
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At the Coimbra prison facility, 60 prisoners are completing vocational training that will lead to dual certification.
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According to the Portuguese prison service, 2,416 prisoners received vocational training in 2021 via 212 training activities over 72,152 hours.
The prison service stated that nearly 3,500 prisoners will receive vocational training before the end of the year, representing over 35% of the prison population.
Prisoners enrolled in educational training
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According to the Minister of Justice, Catarina Sarmento e Castro, around 2,700 prisoners are attending courses at various levels of instruction, from basic education to higher education. At the Coimbra prison, 120 prisoners are taking courses from the primary level to higher education.
Total official capacity of the prison facilities
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The gradual closing of the Lisbon prison facility is part of a programme to redevelop and modernise prison resources and infrastructures, authorities state. Its closing will be offset by the creation of an equivalent number of job posts in other facilities and the redevelopment and reconstruction of vacant or underutilised districts. In the first stage, nine existing and underutilised prison districts will be renovated in the prisons of Alcoentre, Linhó and Sintra. In the next stage, an existing district at the Tires prison, which is currently vacant, will be repurposed to increase the prison’s capacity. Lastly, a new district will be constructed at the prison in Tires. These actions will help increase prison capacity and overall living accommodations.
The prison service offers activities to prisoners
yes
The prisoners have access to sports, and social and cultural activities. External educational, cultural, artistic or sports entities organise social or cultural activities in prison. In 2017, there were 282 entities for social and cultural activities, and 112 for physical and sports activities.
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As part of the Libert’arte project, the Aveiro prison facility organised a performance with the involvement of thirty or so prisoners on 1 October 2022. They participated in the artistic creation process in the fields of street art, dance, music, theatre and visual arts. Eleven prisoners were part of the final showcase.
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The new facilities at the Caldas da Rainha prison expanded the main building by 360m2. They included a double bedroom, a workshop, a general maintenance/training workshop, a multipurpose room and three rooms for teaching and professional training. Work activities included cleaning, maintenance and assembly of components for the construction. Low-security prisoners could carry out cleaning and maintenance tasks in public areas. As many prisoners were sentenced for driving without a licence, a partnership with a local driving school was established to allow them to obtain their driving licence. The prison authorities stated that they also offered psychosocial programmes; these included courses on morality and ethics, an incentive programme for addictive behaviour, and an integrated suicide prevention programme.
Number and percentage of prisoners who participate in socio-cultural activities
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Number and percentage of prisoners who participate in sport activities
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The phones are located
In 2021, around 500 telephones were installed in cells at two institutions, the Linhó prison and the Odemira women’s prison, to help prisoners maintain family ties. This measure aimed to curb mobile phone trafficking. The prisoners would be responsible for covering the cost of the calls and must receive prior approval from the prison administration of the numbers they wish to dial.
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The Council of Ministers approved the ordinance law that allows landline phones to be installed in cells. This law amends the rules and regulations of prison facilities. Arrangements for using the phones will be defined by each facility.
This law follows a pilot experiment carried out with positive results in 2020 and 2021 in the prisons of Linhó, Odemira, Leiria and Santa Cruz do Bispo. It entails installing 846 landlines.
Suicide rate in custody (per 10,000 prisoners)
8.6
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18.4
Portugal had the second highest prison suicide rate of countries in the Council of Europe (18.4 per 10,000 prisoners). It also had the second longest average prison sentence (31 months), just behind Azerbaijan (35 months).
Variation in the number of prisoners
decreased by 11.4%
between january 2020 and january 2021
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Portugal saw the 11th largest reduction in prison population (-10.8%) between January 2020 and January 2021 of the Council of Europe countries. This reduction can be explained by the policy of early release implemented as part of the fight against COVID-19.
Variation in the average length of imprisonment
decrease
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On 4 April 2022, the 2021 annual prison statistics of the Council of Europe were published. They showed that in Portugal, as in almost all the 49 countries analysed, the prison population had been decreasing. In 2020, the average length of a prison sentence in Portugal was 31 months, making Portugal one of the top three countries in this regard, behind Azerbaijan (35 months). The average sentence length in the Council of Europe countries was then 8.9 months.
Variation in the number of prison guard positions
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Rómulo Mateus, the director general of the Prison Services, warned that the number of prison guards was expected to decline by 2027. Indeed, according to Mateus, a third of prison guards could retire in the following five years. He therefore called for annual campaigns to replace lost staff.
A regional body monitors the places of deprivation of liberty
yes
European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT)
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A delegation from the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) visited Portugal from the 23 May to 3 June.
Prisoners have the right to vote
yes
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The participation rate of prisoners in the 2022 legislative elections elections was as follows:
2022 legislative elections: 2871 votes, 30 % of the prison population
2021 presidential election: 2431 votes, 25.3 %
2021 municipal elections: 1665 votes, 16.8 %
Vocational training is provided
yes
The availability of occupational training programmes varies from one facility to another. Vocational training courses are set up according to the needs and resources of each establishment. Priority is given to the training of young prisoners (article 40 of the Code governing the enforcement of sentences).
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Viseu prison provided first cycle education programmes, which would be extended to second cycle the following year. It offered various professional training programmes; the majority of these were short-term programmes, as most prisoners were serving short sentences. The programmes included road maintenance, building maintenance and agriculture. In total, there were 16 courses on offer, including housekeeping, maintenance and organisation of shared spaces, agriculture, metalworking, carpentry, and renovation work within the prison.
Prisoners can have access to a refrigerator
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The prisoners in Linhó prison took part in a project that they suggested themselves as part of the participatory democracy mechanisms established by the municipality of Cascais. The project involved using the prison’s organic waste to make compost and grow organic product in the new 50-hectare vegetable garden surrounding the prison. These products would then be served in the prison canteen.
The law establishes a minimum standard for living space per prisoner
no
The size of the cells and the equipment they contain conform to European Prison Rules, which recommend, without providing figures that cells satisfy the minimum standards of human dignity1.
European Prison Observatory, “Prison conditions in Portugal”, 2013, p. 10. ↩
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The architect Jorge Mealha, who had visited prisons to design new buildings, reported that prisoners were crammed into cells of between 20 and 30 square metres, which were freezing in winter and stifling in summer, and that they had nothing to do but watch TV. Most prisons only had dormitories and it was very difficult to obtain information on the number of prisoners per cell.
Suicide prevention policies are implemented
yes
A suicide risk assessment is performed within 72 hours of admission. Each institution must also develop and implement a plan for suicide prevention measures (section 19 of the code).
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The Integrated Suicide Prevention Programme (Programa Integrado de Prevenção do Suicídio, PIPS) would use a checklist to assess risk. In 2020, 4752 prisoners were evaluated and 1386 of them (almost 30%) were deemed to present a suicide risk.
The prison service must notify a judicial authority for
any deaths
The director of the establishment must, in the event of violent death or death by an unknown cause, safeguard the place of death and the evidence until the criminal police arrive (section 64 of the code). The death of the detainee is immediately communicated:
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To the next of kin/family members
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To the public prosecutor
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To the judicial police
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To the inspection services of the General Directorate
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To health authorities
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There were three deaths on 15 September 2021; a month later, they were all recorded as being due to natural causes. Maria Malveiro used bedsheets to hang herself in the prison of Tires on 29 December. Her lawyers claimed that they had previously warned that the young woman was a suicide risk. Miguel Cesteiro died on 10 January in Alcoentre. His family and the Portuguese Prisoner Support Association (Associação Portuguesa de Apoio ao Recluso) said that there were suspicions that he was attacked and/or that onlookers failed to provide assistance. Danijoy Pontes was found dead on 15 September 2021; his death was officially attributed to a heart attack, although his family claimed he had been murdered. The judicial police were only called in six of the 303 deaths that occurred over a five-year period (two in 2018, three in 2021 and one in 2022), and they arrived late. For example, the police only took action six days after the death of Maria Malveiro and only took action on 29 November in the case of Danijoy Pontes,following pressure from the family, protests from several antiracist organisations and media pressure.
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According to the law, if a prisoner were to die, the public prosecutor must be informed and the appropriate police force (either the civil police,Polícia de Segurança Pública, PSP, or the national guard Guarda Nacional Republicana, GNR) must be summoned. The police forces would then evaluate the situation and decide whether the public prosecutor should pursue the case. The investigation would often be led by the police officer on duty, whether or not they had received specific training for this type of investigation. The effectiveness of the evidence gathering would thus not be guaranteed.
Variation in the number of suicides
decrease: 2.6%
There were 15 suicides in 2017.
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There were 66 cases of suicide over the past five years.
A supervisory body has issued a decision on prison overcrowding
The NPM and the Ombudsman regularly comment on overcrowding in the establishments concerned. Prison overcrowding has been systematically addressed in NPM reports. CPT reports also address overcrowding.
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Twenty cases involving detention conditions in Portugal were awaiting a decision from the European Court of Human Rights. The country had already been sanctioned twice, in 2019 and 2020, for prison overpopulation, shared cells and inadequate prison structures.
Overcrowding is an issue for specific types of prison facilities
yes
The Portuguese association for the support of prisoners (APAR) criticised overcrowding in the Ponta Delgada prison. The claim was corroborated by the authorities, who counted 46 prisoners in one dormitory in May 2021. Twenty-five have since been relocated. In response to overpopulation and the state of disrepair in the current prison estate, policymakers have decided to build new prisons. Construction is expected to be completed in 2027.
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At least 63% of prisons were overpopulated. The occupancy rate of the most overcrowded prison was 160% of its operational capacity.
Average length of imprisonment (in months)
32.4
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Portugal had the second longest average detention time in Europe: according to the Council of Europe, prisoners would spend an average of 30.2 months behind bars.