Alcindo Monteiro

Alcindo Monteiro
Born(1967-10-01)October 1, 1967
DiedJune 12, 1995(1995-06-12) (aged 27)
Known forVictim of a racially motivated murder

Alcindo Bernardo Fortes Monteiro (1 October 1967 – 12 June 1995) was a Portuguese citizen who was murdered at the age of 27 in a racially motivated hate crime.

On 1 October 2020, which would have been his 53rd birthday, the Lisbon City Council unveiled a commemorative plaque in his honor at Rua Garrett, the location where he was attacked. The city described the plaque as a symbol of its commitment to fighting racism and intolerance.

Biography

Alcindo Monteiro was born in Mindelo, Cape Verde, on 1 October 1967, the son of Bernardo and Francisca Monteiro. He was one of seven children. In 1978, at the age of 11, Alcindo emigrated with his family to Portugal, settling in the neighborhood of Casquilhos in Barreiro. He completed his mandatory military service in Beja as a cook. He enjoyed cooking and dancing and dreamed of becoming a hip hop or breakdance dancer.

Murder

On the night of 10 June 1995, Alcindo traveled from Barreiro to Lisbon to go dancing in the Bairro Alto. He was intercepted and brutally beaten by a group of nationalist skinheads in the Chiado area after they had celebrated "Dia da Raça" ("Day of the Race"), a term used during the Portuguese Estado Novo regime to refer to Portugal Day.

Monteiro was found unconscious on Rua Garrett, in front of the Gianni Versace store window, and taken to Hospital de São José along with nine other Black victims. Actor João Lourenço made the emergency call.

Medical reports indicated severe cranial injuries, internal bleeding, cerebral edema, and skull fractures. He fell into a deep coma in the early hours of 11 June and died at 10:30 a.m. on 12 June 1995.

Trial

The trial began on 31 January 1997, at the Monsanto Courthouse in Lisbon, presided over by Judge João Martinho.

Seventeen individuals were charged with murder and assault (the charge of genocide was later dropped). The main defendants included Mário Machado, Nuno Monteiro, Hugo Silva, Ricardo Abreu, José Paiva, and Tiago Palma.

The sentences ranged from 16.5 to 18 years in prison for the primary aggressors.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Monteiro, Fábio. "A vítima perfeita". Observador (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2021-05-12.
  2. 1 2 "Há 25 anos, Alcindo Monteiro foi assassinado pela sua cor de pele". Esquerda.net (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2021-05-12.
  3. ↑ "Memória de Alcindo Monteiro perpetuada em Lisboa". Lisbon Municipality (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2021-05-12.
  4. ↑ Lusa. "Lisboa assinala antirracismo com placa de homenagem a Alcindo Monteiro". Observador. Retrieved 2021-05-12.
  5. ↑ "Alcindo Monteiro homenageado em Lisboa no aniversário do seu assassinato". Lisbon Municipality. Retrieved 2021-05-12.
  6. ↑ "From Alcindo Monteiro to Bruno Candé: Crimes against Black lives in Portugal". Rádio Renascença. 2020-07-27. Retrieved 2021-05-12.
  7. ↑ "Skinheads: Actor João Lourenço describes the crime in detail". Lusa. 1997-02-24. Archived from the original on 1997-03-29. Retrieved 2021-05-12.
  8. ↑ "Skinheads: Court admonishes defendants". Agência Lusa. 1997-04-12. Archived from the original on 1997-07-19. Retrieved 2021-05-12.
  9. ↑ Marques Pereira, Pedro. "Extreme Right Dossier: Breaking the silence of the skinheads". Diário de Notícias. Archived from the original on 2010-05-29. Retrieved 2021-05-12.
  10. ↑ "Skinheads convicted". Diário de Notícias. 1997-06-05. Retrieved 2021-05-12.[dead link]