Lisbon Airport (Photo: REUTERS / Rafael Marchante / File Photo)
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A court in Portugal on Monday 10 May sentenced three migration inspectors to between seven and nine years’ imprisonment, who killed Ukrainian Igor Gomenyuk after being detained at the Lisbon airport.
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It is reported by Associated Press.
Three inspectors were found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm during interrogation, as a result of which the 40-year-old Ukrainian died. Two men received nine years in prison, another seven years.
A court in Lisbon found that the inspectors kicked and beat the man, who was in handcuffs at that moment, with batons, thus breaking his ribs. This led to the death of Gomenyuk from strangulation.
Igor Gomenyuk, 40, tried to enter Portugal without a valid visa in March 2020. He was detained after refusing to board a plane to return to Ukraine. It died in the detention center of Lisbon airport after being severely beaten in a room without surveillance cameras by three immigration officers (SEF).
Cristina Gatos, Head of the Office for Foreigners and Borders of Portugal, December 9 resigned amid scandal… Cases of mistreatment of foreigners who arrive in Portugal have been encountered before, but after Gatos admitted that Gomenyuk was tortured, the pressure on her intensified.
In April 2021, Portugal decided to liquidate the Foreigners and Borders Service after the scandal with the murder of a Ukrainian. The government of the country announced that SEF functions will be divided between other law enforcement agencies. At the same time, a new administrative body will be created in the country – the Service for Foreigners and Asylum (SEA), which will support immigrants and refugees in Portugal.
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