The president of the Arroios Parish Council has filed a criminal complaint against Mariana Carneiro, the leader of SOS Racismo. The complaint, submitted to the Lisbon District Court, accuses Carneiro of defamation.
Allegations of False Statements
The president claims that Carneiro made false statements during a session at the Municipal Assembly, leading to the legal action. In a written statement to the media, Madalena Natividade, a CDS-PP elected official, explained that she filed a criminal complaint this week against the leader of SOS Racismo, Mariana Carneiro.
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The complaint stems from what Natividade claims were false statements made by Carneiro during a Municipal Assembly meeting held on April 16. The note read:
“I deeply respect freedom of expression, but I cannot accept particularly offensive falsehoods that make no sense. They are particularly offensive because the homeless people at the Igreja dos Anjos are mostly immigrants and I, who was also homeless when I came from Mozambique when I was very young and lived in very difficult conditions (…), I cannot accept that they undermine the respect I have for people in this situation.”
Responses to the Accusations
The issue revolves around statements made by Mariana Carneiro during the Lisbon Municipal Assembly meeting on April 16. Carneiro claimed that the Arroios Parish Council had attempted to expel homeless individuals living in tents within the parish.
When contacted by the media, Mariana Carneiro expressed surprise regarding the criminal complaint. She described it as surreal, emphasizing that the issue was brought up during a space of active and participatory citizenship.
He told the media:
“I have not yet been made aware of the action that has been taken. I find it strange that the action is being taken against me, since we are not talking about an ordinary citizen, but rather the executive of the parish council, which knows that it is under public and political scrutiny. I made the statements in a public space open to citizens and parishioners.”
Aim of the Municipal Assembly Participation
The leader of SOS Racismo, Mariana Carneiro, explained that she took part in the Municipal Assembly meeting as a citizen, resident, and parishioner of Arroios. Her aim was to inform the immigrants present about the events that had taken place in Jardim dos Anjos.
The activist further explained that she identified the mayor based on the description given to her and by showing a photo of Madalena Natividade on her mobile phone. She said:
“It was the immigrants who approached me — one Senegalese, one Indian and one Algerian — saying that the president of the parish council had been there and that they would have to leave by 5pm the following day.”
Municipal Police Confirmation of Eviction Instructions
Mariana Carneiro stated that the municipal police present at the scene confirmed there were instructions for people to vacate the tents set up at the location, and no alternative accommodation was provided.
In the criminal complaint, which includes a request for civil compensation, Madalena Natividade highlights the statements made (…) during the Lisbon Municipal Assembly on April 16 as being severely offensive to her honor and reputation (…) both personally and in her role as president of the parish council.
Ongoing Legal Disputes and Accusations
Furthermore, according to the mayor, the leader of SOS Racismo then stated that:
“In the Igreja dos Anjos, where there have already been several attempts to expel people, namely, about a month and a half ago, the president of the local council, Mrs. Natividade, was threatening them [homeless people who are there] so that they would have less than 24 hours to leave there without any other alternative.”
Madalena Natividade also stated that the leader of SOS Racismo, Mariana Carneiro, mentioned that it was the associations, collectives, migrants themselves, and the media that prevented the eviction from happening.
In the criminal complaint, the president of the parish council states that:
“Mariana Carneiro knew that the accusations she made against the president, whom she identified as ‘Mrs. Natividade’, were false, since she had never assumed any behavior or determined any action by her services with a view to expelling the homeless people who were near the Igreja dos Anjos, and even less so had she threatened them that they would have less than 24 hours to leave there.”
In the document, the president of the parish council alleges that Mariana Carneiro’s illegal conduct has been ongoing. She claims that Carneiro previously attributed inhumane, illegal, and discriminatory behavior to her.
Accusations Against the Arroios Parish Council
Specifically, Natividade points out that Carneiro accused the Arroios Parish Council of using the parish as a testing ground for policies that persecute migrants.
Furthermore, Carneiro claimed that local collectives condemned the Arroios Parish Council’s actions against the rights of immigrants, supporting her statements with an image of Madalena Natividade.
The complaint also states that Mariana Carneiro was not unaware of the falseness of what she was accusing the mayor of and that she did so deliberately and consciously, with the intention of damaging her good name, reputation, honour and dignity.
According to the complainant, the leader of SOS Racismo raises suspicions and makes accusations but never actually states any facts. Instead, she uses unbridled and offensive language. In Arroios, several people, particularly immigrants seeking to regularize their status in Portugal, spent time in tents next to the Church of Anjos and in the surrounding area.
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