Police clear Lisbon and Porto housing protest camps, 13 arrested
Portugal's PSP dismantled housing-rights encampments in Lisbon and Porto before dawn on Sunday, arresting 13 protesters and leaving 13 officers hurt, officials said.
Portuguese police cleared housing-rights protest camps in Lisbon's Rossio square and Porto's Praça de Dom João I in a coordinated operation shortly after 04:30 on Sunday, arresting 13 people for disobeying orders to disperse, police said. Six were detained in Lisbon and seven in Porto, according to the Polícia de Segurança Pública (PSP).
PSP spokesman Sérgio Soares said 13 officers were hurt, all in Porto, eight of whom were taken to hospital; one officer displayed a firearm, without firing it, after a four-officer team was confronted by protesters on Porto's Avenida dos Aliados. Soares said demonstrators had thrown fireworks, bottles and what police suspected was flammable paint, describing "a very active resistance" that forced officers to use batons. Protesters had formed a human cordon in an attempt to delay the operation, Notícias ao Minuto reported.
Correio da Manhã put the number of injured protesters at at least 38; organisers in Lisbon separately said at least six of their own were hurt, a figure that could not be independently confirmed. A television cameraman for broadcaster CMTV was struck by a police baton during the Porto operation, according to the Lusa news agency.
Police said they removed almost 100 tents, 69 in Lisbon and about 30 in Porto, after campers refused orders to clear the squares following Saturday's demonstrations. The seven people detained in Porto were released and are due in court on Monday; their lawyers said they would file a criminal complaint against Interior Minister Luís Neves and PSP director Pedro Moura, accusing police of disproportionate force.
President António José Seguro asked the government and Portugal's ombudsman's office for a full account of the operation and the condition of those detained and injured, a presidency spokesperson said. It was the second time in five days that police had dismantled the encampments, which have appeared intermittently over three weeks.
More than 1,000 people had marched peacefully through central Lisbon on Saturday evening, demanding the withdrawal of a government rental-law reform, caps on rents, limits on institutional investors buying homes and more public housing. Prime Minister Luís Montenegro has ruled out withdrawing the bill, though he has said he is open to amendments; it passed its first parliamentary vote with the far-right Chega party abstaining.
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What we know
- Police cleared housing-rights camps in Lisbon and Porto before dawn on Sunday, arresting 13 people.
- PSP said 13 officers were hurt in Porto, eight taken to hospital.
- Correio da Manhã reported at least 38 injured protesters; Lisbon organisers separately said at least six of their own were hurt.
- Lawyers for those detained in Porto plan a criminal complaint against the interior minister and PSP's director.
- President António José Seguro asked the government for a full account of the operation.
Not yet confirmed
- The total number of protesters injured has not been independently confirmed; police and media reports give differing figures.
Figure history
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Why it matters for Europe
The clearances are the second in five days and follow weeks of intermittent camps in Lisbon and Porto against a government reform of rental law, part of a wider housing-affordability crisis that has driven protests across several European cities this year. A sitting president publicly seeking an account from the government over police conduct is unusual in Portugal, and puts real political pressure on Prime Minister Luís Montenegro's minority government, whose rental bill already depends on far-right support in parliament.
Sources
Reported by 5 reports from 5 independent outlets in 3 countries.
- Expresso: “Não temos absolutamente nenhum medo”: manifestantes formam cordão humano no Porto após aviso da PSP
- Correio da Manhã: Polcia volta a agredir manifestantes pela habitao no Porto. H pelo menos 38 feridos
- Notícias ao Minuto: Protestos: PSP fez 13 detidos em Lisboa e Porto. Há 13 polícias feridos
- Correio da Manhã: PSP confirma 7 manifestantes detidos no Porto e 6 em Lisboa. 13 polcias ficaram feridos
- Notícias ao Minuto: Por cá: Rui Costa "ao ataque" e FC Porto no "arco do triunfo"
Source balance
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Intelligence file
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Confidence and impact scores, 4 more sources, the full situation report and the event timeline.
Questions and answers
- What happened in Lisbon and Porto?
- Police cleared housing-rights protest camps in both cities before dawn on Sunday, arresting 13 people and removing nearly 100 tents.
- How many people were hurt?
- PSP said 13 officers were injured, all in Porto; Correio da Manhã reported at least 38 injured protesters, while Lisbon organisers said at least six of their own were hurt.
- What are the protesters demanding?
- They want the government to withdraw a rental-law reform, cap rents, limit investor purchases of housing and expand public housing.
This article was written with AI assistance from 9 verified reports and checked under the ECTV editorial policy. Spotted an error? Request a correction.