A bill to criminalise racism, xenophobia and other discriminatory practices has been submitted to Parliament yesterday (November 6). The initiative is led by a group of citizens and collectives who managed to gather 24,000 signatures, “more than enough for Parliament to be obliged to discuss the issue”, wrote Diário de Notícias.
According to Anizabela Amaral, one of the leaders of this initiative, the debate will be opened on the basis of this text, with voting expected only in March next year. “The result of our efforts is consolidated,” she told DN, adding that the Vice-President of Parliament, Rodrigo Saraiva, said he was convinced parliamentary groups would “want to present their own proposals, their own alternative texts”.
According to the activist, meetings will be requested with each parliamentary group, “with the exception of Chega” (far-right), which has become Portugal’s third largest political force. Reasons behind the activists’ decision not to meet with Chega may be related to recent news involving the party and alleged incitement to ethnic or racial hatred.
The delivery of the bill in Parliament marked the culmination of work carried out over about a year and a half, which began with meetings last summer to coordinate strategies and draft the text. “Several lawyers contributed to the construction of the proposal,” said DN.
Explaining the strategy, the group of activists carried out an “extensive online and in-person campaign” to collect signatures.
“We created content on our social networks, denouncing acts of racism against Portuguese people and a campaign to explain that there is racism against Portuguese people … if they are black, gypsies or of other ethnicities,” she stressed.
Among the cases highlighted by the group were those of Portuguese basketball player Neemias Queta, singer Plutónio and athlete Isaac Nader, who recently won the gold medal in the 1500 metres at the World Athletics Championships. “All were the target of racist insults,” wrote DN.
“The campaign sought to highlight that these attacks, under the current wording of the law, are rarely punished, being mostly treated as simple insults,” pointed out Anizabela Amaral.
“Article 240 of the Penal Code deals with these crimes”, DN highlighted.
The bill proposes that crimes involving discrimination “through threats of committing a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than three years” be classified as “aggravated”. If committed against “public officials, academics or journalists in the exercise of their duties, or by any means intended for dissemination or publicity”, the penalties provided for are “increased by one third, within their minimum and maximum limits”.
The creation of “an organisation, or the development of propaganda activities that incite or encourage discrimination, hatred or violence against a person or group of persons on the grounds of their ethnic or racial origin, national or religious origin, colour, nationality, ancestry, territory of origin, religion, language, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression or sexual characteristics, physical or mental disability; or participating in the organisations mentioed earlier, in the activities undertaken by them or providing them with assistance, including their financing, is punishable by imprisonment of one to eight years”, among other amendments.
Source: Diário de Notícias
