Crime suspects walk free due to strike by judicial employees

At least 12 detainees will be released today in the metropolitan area of ​​Lisbon due to the justice officers’ strike, involving cases of homicide, domestic violence and drug trafficking, according to a source from the Judicial Employees Union (SFJ).
The same source told Lusa that there is a murder suspect who will be released because he cannot be brought before the investigating judge for the first judicial interrogation within 48 hours. The same happens in relation to five other drug trafficking suspects who have already been released, four of whom were caught with ‘acorns’ of drugs, and who were supposedly ‘drug couriers’.
There is also another detainee – whose alleged crime was not identified – who had to be released in Cascais and five more detainees on suspicion of domestic violence who were also released for the same reason: two in Lisbon, two in Sintra and one in Seixal.
“The April 25th holiday was sandwiched between two strikes without minimum services and detainees who finish the 48-hour period between these three days [quarta, quinta e sexta-feira] they run out of time before the Saturday morning shift at the Central Criminal Instruction Court.” [também conhecido como Ticão]he said.
The same source admitted that “perhaps there will be more situations like this until the end of the day and on Friday”.
“Normally there are no shifts on holidays. The courts may have judges in Ticão or the Cascais court of inquiry, but they do not have the employees,” she summarized.
According to the same SFJ source, today’s strike, which was accompanied by concentrations of these professionals in several cities across the country, will have reached “90% participation” at a national level.
In the Algarve, for example, participation in today’s strike by judicial employees is above 70%, with the courts in Faro and Olhão closed.
The Algarve regional director of the SFJ, Aniceto Massa, said that the shutdown in most courts “is very significant, practically operating at minimum services”.
According to Aniceto Massa, cases with arrested defendants are being directed by the courts that are closed to the Portimão Court, “where there is strong support, but with employees working in the criminal investigation court”.
In the opinion of Aniceto Massa, participation in today’s strike “is not greater, because the salary that judicial employees receive is so meager and extremely poor that it is a significant effort to carry out two consecutive days of strike”.
“Although people want to go on strike, it is not easy to manage the family budget afterwards. I am convinced that on Friday there will be 100% adherence in the Algarve”, he concluded.