Portuguese Police Clear Housing Protest Camps in Lisbon and Porto
Officers dismantled protest camps of at least 100 tents in Lisbon and about 50 in Porto and arrested more than 30 people, according to The Guardian.
According to The Guardian, police in Portugal dismantled housing protest camps in Lisbon and Porto in the early hours of Sunday, baton-charging campaigners and arresting more than 30 people. The Guardian's report, credited to Ashifa Kassam and agencies, said officers cleared at least 100 tents in central Lisbon and about 50 in Porto.
The Guardian described the raids as the latest incident in days of clashes between police and campaigners. It said the campaigners were inspired by similar camps, though the portion of its report available for this story ends before identifying those camps.
The headline of the Guardian report says police used "use dogs and batons" against the camps. The summary of the same report refers to baton charges but does not mention dogs, so the account of dog use rests on the headline alone. Neither the headline nor the summary gives the number of dogs or describes how they were used.
The scale of the clearances, as the Guardian reported it, is stated in two different forms. The Lisbon figure is a minimum, at least 100 tents, while the Porto figure is an approximation, about 50 tents. No independent confirmation of either figure appears in the material available for this story.
The portion of the Guardian report available for this story did not include statements from police or from the campaigners. It gave no further account of the arrests beyond the figure of more than 30.
Sources: The Guardian: Police in Portugal ‘use dogs and batons’ to dismantle housing protest camps.