Lisbon police detain 55 protesters as Portugal clears housing camps in Lisbon and Porto

The dawn operation

Portuguese police dismantled the housing protest camp on Rossio square, formally Praça D. Pedro IV, in Lisbon at around 06:00 on Tuesday, 20 October. Officers removed dozens of tents from the public road and detained 55 people, while two others were slightly injured. At the same time, a similar camp on Praça D. João I in Porto was cleared without any arrests. Local television footage showed clashes as protesters formed a human chain to slow the operation.

Police said they tried dialogue first, then gave express dispersal orders and warned of disobedience offences. In Lisbon, they said a group refused to leave and showed 'active resistance', and that their action met the criteria of necessity, adequacy and proportionality. Protesters said they were hit and shoved, and that tents were taken down while people were still inside.

Competing accounts

PSP spokesman Sérgio Soares said no batons were used in Lisbon, no police charge took place and no individual officer went beyond proper conduct. He attributed the two minor injuries to disobedience and resistance to leaving during the operation. In Porto, he said the protesters followed instructions and left voluntarily.

Interior Minister Luís Neves said the law must be obeyed and that tents cannot be set up in public space. He added that authorities had shown tolerance toward this kind of protest, and that the space would eventually have to be returned to everyone. Porto mayor Pedro Duarte said the right to demonstrate cannot be questioned in his city, but must stay within a legal and democratic framework.

Constitutional scholar Pedro Bacelar de Vasconcelos said the police charge was the result of an unclear line between public order, expression, assembly and the right to tranquillity. He argued that police should only intervene when protests disturb public order, create unbearable noise for residents or block traffic. In his view, the question is not whether campers hold a licence or paid a fee.

Detentions and legal status

The 55 detainees were taken to two police stations: 28 to Martim Moniz and 27 to Campolide, where a group gathered to protest the police action. All of them were released and made formal suspects (arguidos), given identity and residence terms, and are being investigated for disobedience. A lawyer is representing them. According to the movement Acampada pela Habitação, they must appear before a judge at the Campus de Justiça on Wednesday, 21 October, at 10:00, while PSP referred them to the Small Instance Court. Movement spokesperson Ana Luísa accused police of being a 'source of violence' against a peaceful demonstration, and said most parents and classmates who sought information from police got none.

Martim Moniz station28

Campolide station27

Martim Moniz station

28 people

Campolide station

27 people

Data from the article text

Wider protest movement

The camps are part of a wave of protests over access to housing and rising living costs, which followed similar demonstrations in France, Spain and Italy. The Porto camp had started more than a week earlier, and was cleared for one night on Thursday, 15 October, after police charges left several people injured. The Lisbon camp began on Saturday, 17 October. Protesters said they would keep camping and resisting, and would meet in assembly that afternoon to decide whether to set up camp again.

The movement is also pushing for an Iberian general strike on housing on 11 November. A solidarity rally was called for 19:00 at Praça 8 de Maio in Coimbra, aimed at supporting the camps in Lisbon and Porto. Organisers asked everyone who wants to join to attend peacefully and press for public measures that guarantee access to housing.