Portugal: Police break up housing protest camps in Lisbon and Porto with batons
Police removed protesters' tents overnight into Sunday. Police report 31 arrests; the Porto camp speaks of 37 people slightly injured.
Photo: Agência Lusa / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 (cropped and resized)
Portuguese police cleared protest camps against the housing crisis in Lisbon and Porto overnight into Sunday. The operation began at around 1 a.m. in both cities; shortly before 2 a.m., officers had cordoned off Lisbon's Rossio Square, where about 130 tents stood, and Porto's Praça D. João I. Police used batons. Protesters formed a human chain. Police said the operation led to "31 arrests for disobedience" and was aimed at ending the "illegal encampments".
A spokeswoman for the Porto camp told the Lusa news agency there were 37 minor injuries and two arrests. "It is the third night in which we are being repressed with a method of total intimidation," protester Catarina dos Santos told reporters. Protesters moved to nearby squares and said they would return.
They are demanding a reversal of the new tenancy law, an end to evictions of people with no alternative housing, rent caps and limits on property purchases by investment funds. On Saturday, large crowds had marched peacefully, accusing the government of failing to tackle the housing crisis. Police had already cleared the Rossio camp on 20 October.