The Supreme Court of Justice (STJ) refused a request for you have a body presented by the lawyer João Lopes, expelled from the National Republican Guard (GNR). The former soldier is serving a prison sentence after being convicted of attacks on immigrants in Odemira.
According to the STJ, “the petitioner is in prison serving a duly fixed sentence, determined by a competent entity, motivated by facts that the law punishes with imprisonment, and without the prison time having been exceeded”. Therefore, the court understood that “there is, therefore, no basis that determines his release”.
João Lopes recently began serving a prison sentence, after years of appeals. The case dates back to 2019 and involves several military police officers, whose victims were immigrants who had their home invaded and were beaten with several blows. The attack was filmed and used as evidence at the trial.
He was Following a complaint from a GNR soldier, the Judiciary Police (PJ) began the investigation, which ended up revealing images of other previous attacks. João Lopes had his sentence revised to six years and nine months.
According to recent news published by DN, between 2014 and 2023 “74 military personnel were convicted of serious crimes, of which 43 are still in service, 29 were expelled and two were transferred to reserve or retirement”.
In total, the Guard reveals that, in a decade, “377 soldiers were convicted, for crimes in general, of which 271 still serve in the GNR, with penalties of aggravated suspension, suspension, aggravated written reprimand and written reprimand being applied”.
amanda.lima@dn.pt
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