In a statement sent to Lusa, the Ministry of Justice admits to bringing an appeal, pointing out weaknesses to the conviction.
“Although the State has not been condemned in the substantive part of the complaint, but only in the procedural aspect and with reference to the initial phase of the investigation, it appears, however, that the deficiencies pointed out were not adequately framed in the overall investigation as well as in the context of the moment in which they occurred, nor its implications for the outcome of the process and the discovery of the truth“, says the Government note.
“Thus, the possibility of referring the case back to the ‘Grande Chambre’ [instância superior do TEDH], for review of these aspects, is not excluded “, adds the same note.
The Portuguese state was ordered to pay 13,000 euros in damages to the family of one of the Lusófona University students who died in Meco six years ago, the European Court of Human Rights ruled, which found the investigation failing.
According to the ruling published on the website of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), in addition to the 13,000 euros in damages, the Portuguese State will have to secure the over 7,000 euros in court costs and fees.
The court found that the investigation did not meet the requirements regarding protection of the right to life, mainly because a series of urgent measures could have been taken shortly after the Meco tragedy (December 2013), in which six students attending a ceremony died. as usual on the beach.
However, it considered that there was no legal void with regard to the usual as national law already contained a number of “criminal, civil and disciplinary provisions designed to prevent, suppress and punish circumstances that endanger the lives of persons or the their physical or psychological integrity. “
“While recognizing the undoubtedly tragic nature of the present case, the Court did not consider that the State [português] has failed in its obligations under Article 2 and [que pudesse] so be held responsible for the death of the son of Soares Campos [pai de Tiago André Campos]”says the ECtHR.
The court explains that Tiago André Campos’ father, who died when he was dragged by a wave while attending a ceremony included in academic practice at Meco Beach, claimed that his son’s death had been caused by the lack of a regulatory legal structure in the beaches. usual activities of the Portuguese universities and complained that investigating the circumstances of the student’s death had been ineffective.
In the ruling, the ECtHR points to several flaws in the investigation, starting by saying that the house where the victims were staying could have been isolated and access forbidden to all unrelated persons in order to prevent any contamination or even loss of evidence. .
The tragedy in Meco occurred on December 15, 2013 and, after the discovery of Tiago Campos’s body, a day later, an inquiry into the circumstances of the youth’s death was opened, which was to be filed in July 2014 and reopened in October. of the same year, when the “dux” João Gouveia was constituted defendant.
In March 2015 the court decided not to send the case to trial and the Évora Relationship agreed: the victims were adults and had not been deprived of their liberty during the usual period, so there was no criminal liability on João Gouveia.
The parents of the victims advanced in 2016 with civil lawsuits against the only survivor and the Lusophone University worth 150,000 euros for each victim and Tiago Campos’s father filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights.
The complaint was lodged on 27 May 2016 alleging that Portugal had violated Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights – the article providing for the right to life.
– .
