Chega will have to remove posters about gypsies from the streets. The decision was taken this Monday, December 22nd, by the Civil Court of Lisbon, following an action presented by the associations on November 10th.
The news is reported by the newspaper Expresso and the sentence targets the posters on which the phrase: “Gypsies must obey the law.”
The presidential candidate said he would respect the court’s decision, but if he did not do so he would be forced to pay a fine of 2,500 euros. Ventura will, according to the sentence, have to “remove, within 24 hours, all the posters he placed on public roads and in different locations across the country with the words ‘gypsies must comply with the law – André Ventura presidential 2026’”.
The judge ordered Ventura “to refrain from, in the future, determining or promoting, directly or indirectly, the posting of posters with identical or equivalent content”.
Ricardo Sá Fernandes, lawyer who defended the action brought by the gypsy associations, considers that judge Ana Barão’s decision “helps” Portugal to be “a fairer and more decent country”, adding that it is “a victory for the resistance of the gypsy people”.
Last Thursday, after being heard in court, André Ventura said that a court decision to remove the posters would be “a very serious precedent from a political and jurisprudential point of view” and that it would “pave the way for the end of politics in Portugal”.
The posters were placed by Chega in several locations, including Moita, Montijo and Palmela.