The maximum sentence – to which two of the escaped are condemned – is 25 years in Portugal. In the event of capture, only three of the fugitives will see their sentence increased
Two sentenced to 25 years in prison, one sentenced to 18 years, one sentenced to nine years, and another sentenced to seven years. These are the sentences of the five escaped criminals from the Vale de Judeus Prison, in Alcoentre, but only three of the prisoners may see their sentence altered if they are captured.
In an interview with CNN Portugal, Paulo Saragoça da Matta explains that “the escape, in itself, is another crime” and that, because of this, “a new criminal process will necessarily be initiated for each of them, to impose a penalty to punish the escape behavior.”
“Some of them, from what I understood from the news, were already serving the maximum sentence according to Portuguese criminal law. This will necessarily mean that after the second conviction, this last court will make a second ruling that accumulates the sentences and applies the same one that already exists because it cannot increase it. But if they had 10 years, they could end up with 11 or 12,” explains the lawyer.
The sentence for the escaped individuals sentenced to 25 years in prison cannot be increased “because the law does not allow it.” “In the practice of a crime, already serving a sentence for one crime, the accumulation of sentences is necessarily made. That is, they are added according to a legal formula, and when the accumulation is done, it is concluded that it cannot exceed 25 years and remains at 25.”
With a new crime on their record, three of the five escaped may see their sentence increased, which can still be served in the same Prison Establishment, should the Directorate General of Reinsertion and Prison Services (DGRSP) decide so. According to Saragoça da Matta, they might even return to share the same wing. Everything will depend on the DGRSP.
“In terms of the location of the prisoner within the Portuguese prison structure, that is always a free decision by the Directorate General. That is to say, just because they escaped from this one does not mean they necessarily have to go to another. Especially since this [EP of Vale dos Judeus] is considered a special security prison. They may stay in separate wings, they may stay in different prison establishments, or they may even stay in the same wing. It is always a discretionary decision of the public administration, in this case of the executive power of the State,” he explains.
Therefore, the five fugitives may return to the same prison and even share the same wing, as was the case for four of them at the Vale de Judeus Prison, from where they escaped on Saturday. The escape was registered by the video surveillance systems at 09:56 but was only detected 40 minutes later, when the inmates were returning to their cells.
The fugitives are two Portuguese citizens, Fernando Ribeiro Ferreira and Fábio Fernandes Santos Loureiro, one citizen from Georgia, Shergili Farjiani, one from Argentina, Rodolf José Lohrmann, and one from the United Kingdom, Mark Cameron Roscaleer, aged between 33 and 61 years.
They were sentenced to terms ranging from seven to 25 years in prison for various crimes, including drug trafficking, criminal association, robbery, kidnapping, and money laundering.
According to information released on Saturday by the Directorate General of Reinsertion and Prison Services (DGRSP), a preliminary assessment using video surveillance images indicates that the escape of the five men occurred “with external help through the throwing of a ladder, which allowed the inmates to scale the wall and access the outside.”
The Internal Security System (SSI) also indicated on Saturday that “international police cooperation has been expedited” for their capture.
According to the DGRSP, an internal inquiry has already been opened, led by the Audit and Inspection Service, coordinated by the Public Ministry.
The national director of the Judiciary Police (PJ), Luís Neves, stated that the five men are “very violent people, with an enormous capacity for mobility” and that an investigation is underway to determine how the escape occurred and who is behind it.
According to the PJ director, the fugitives “will do whatever they can to remain free,” acknowledging that “the issue of human life is at stake,” warning about the “degree of complexity and violence” of the men.