Portuguese Supreme Court increases acid attacker's prison sentence to 16 years

Supreme court ruling

Portugal's Supreme Court of Justice increased the prison sentence for a man convicted of attempting to kill his former partner with sulphuric acid to 16 years. In an appellate ruling published on 1 October 2026, the judicial panel partially granted the appeal filed by the victim and rejected the appeal lodged by the defense. The appellate judges raised the penalty for the crime of attempted qualified homicide from 11 to 14 years of imprisonment.

The decision altered the composite sentence previously handed down by the Penafiel Court. In the first-instance trial, the defendant received an overall sentence of 12 years and 10 months, which incorporated penalties for attempted homicide and aggravated domestic violence. By adjusting the attempted homicide component upward to 14 years, the Supreme Court established a final global term of 16 years behind bars.

By judgment published yesterday, the panel of Justice Counsellors of the STJ denied the appeal filed by the defendant and partially granted the appeal filed by the assistant, increasing from 11 to 14 years the prison sentence to which he had been sentenced by the first-instance court, for committing the crime of attempted qualified homicide.

Circumstances of the attack

The attack took place on 13 November 2024 in the northern Portuguese municipality of Amarante. The defendant, a waiter residing in the nearby town of Peso da Régua, launched the assault after refusing to accept the end of his romantic relationship with the 23-year-old victim. Since their separation, the young woman had been living at her mother's residence in Amarante.

The perpetrator traveled to the family home under the stated pretext of returning a cat and returning other personal belongings to his former girlfriend. He brought a container of sulphuric acid to the encounter and poured the caustic liquid over her. The acid struck the victim primarily across her face, as well as multiple other parts of her body. The woman suffered severe burns and injuries, requiring emergency transport to a hospital, where she remained admitted for extensive clinical care.

Investigation and trial findings

Immediately after the chemical assault, the defendant fled the residence and attempted to evade capture. He remained a fugitive for ten days until investigators from the Judiciary Police (Polícia Judiciária) tracked his movements and arrested him.

During the initial trial at the Penafiel Court, the defendant argued that he had purchased the sulphuric acid over the internet for the domestic purpose of cleaning floor tiles at his residence. He claimed that a sudden argument erupted during the meeting and that he threw the liquid solely to make the victim be quiet. Judges dismissed this account, ruling that the defendant acted with the premeditated purpose of disfiguring his former partner and possessed full awareness that the attack could result in her death.

Post-release restrictions and measures

Alongside the aggravated 16-year prison term, the judicial ruling maintained strict protective conditions intended to safeguard the victim. The court ordered an absolute prohibition against the defendant approaching or making contact with the former partner for a period of five years following the completion of his prison sentence.

The judgment also established a mandatory five-year ban on the acquisition, possession, carrying, and use of all firearms and other weapons. This restriction enters into force on the day the convict finishes serving his custodial sentence.