The four men who caused chaos on the ground and in the skies over Lisbon two weeks ago have been handed four-year suspended prison sentences today and look set to claim asylum in Portugal.
In other words, their “desperate bid at illegal immigration” (click here) has paid off.
Público explains that Lisbon criminal court (Tribunal de Pequena Instância Criminal do Campus da Justiça) has heard that the four men, aged between 20 and 33, have claimed asylum for economic reasons, saying they cannot support themselves in Algeria.
Two of them have cited persecution, the paper adds: one for “being a Catholic, not a Muslim”, and the other for being homosexual.
The men were charged with invading the airport runway on Saturday, July 30, and putting the lives of other passengers at risk. The charge of invading a space prohibited to the public was dropped after ANA airports authority decided not to lodge a complaint, Público added.
