Portugal’s Association of People for the Inclusion of the Roma Community is considering joining the prosecution as a civil party in the case brought by the Public Prosecutor’s Office against Albufeira mayor Rui Cristina, over alleged discrimination and incitement to hatred charges.
The association, which “works to promote the inclusion of Roma people”, will also ask the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality (CIG) to join the proceedings as a civil party.
The case against Cristina stems from comments he made at a meeting of the Albufeira Municipal Assembly on 26 November 2025. The mayor of Albufeira reportedly said that “by his own choice, the municipality would not spend money, in the area of housing, on a particular group of local citizens belonging to a particular minority ethnic group”.
“At a time when hate speech appears to be the order of the day, the facts have shown that it has been the courts that have restored the rule of law which, at times, public office holders and elected officials, almost entirely from the Chega party, following the example set by its leader, André Ventura, have disregarded in their treatment of the Roma community,” the association argued.
According to the organisation, such figures “never miss an opportunity” to “belittle, insult and discriminate against” an ethnic group, citing “André Ventura’s presidential campaign posters” as one example.
“We believe this case will be no different,” the Association for the Inclusion of the Roma Community said, stressing that it would continue to “defend the dignity, rights and full citizenship of Roma people” and work to ensure that political decision-makers “reflect on the need to strengthen protection for minority communities”.
Albufeira Mayor Rui Cristina said said earlier this week that he had received the Public Prosecutor’s Office’s indictment accusing him of discrimination and incitement to hatred “calmly”, while standing by his views on access to municipal housing.
According to the indictment, the mayor’s comments placed the ethnic community concerned in a secondary position compared with other residents of the municipality when it came to meeting housing needs, justifying that position by claiming that members of the minority group “do not pay taxes”.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office alleges that Cristina “acted with the intention of offending the honour and standing” of people belonging to the ethnic community, accusing them collectively of evading their tax responsibilities and seeking to demean and discriminate against them in access to housing.
Speaking to the journalists, however, the mayor rejected that interpretation, arguing that his positions “were political, were not directed against anyone” and were adopted within the Municipal Assembly, a political body.
Cristina also said he respected the justice system and would face the proceedings “with his head held high and without abandoning” his convictions. He added that, after the judicial holidays, he would consult his legal team on whether to request the opening of an instruction phase in the case.
Source: LUSA
Photo credit: José Carlos Carvalho
