Fabian Figueiredo complains to PAR after Ventura publishes his images

O bE's only deputy today delivered a participation to the President of the Assembly of the Republic after the leader of the Aquista, André Ventura, had published images of him captured in parliament without his consent.

In an exhibition to José Pedro Aguiar-White, the bloquist Fabian Figueiredo refers to a publication by the leader of the Aquista, André Ventura, on social networks, in which it is possible to see the BE deputy circulating through the corridors of the Assembly of the Republic.

In the text, André Ventura accuses Fabian Figueiredo of faking a leg injury, which will have occurred during the police charge on the demonstration for housing in Lisbon last Saturday.

Fabian Figueiredo states that these images were captured without his knowledge or consent, not knowing “who captured them, at what time, with what equipment, nor to what title”.

“ These are facts that the Assembly of the Republic has the means to ascertain and the signatory does not”, he argues. In the same publication, the deputy of the Aça Marcus Vinicius Teixeira Soares dos Santos commented: “If it took, it took little. If I took more, I wouldn't be rolling, I was limping. Everything will be fine”.

In participation, the BE Member calls on José Pedro Aguiar-Branco to act in various areas.

First, he asks the President of Parliament to determine, through the Secretary-General and the security services of the Assembly of the Republic, “the clearance of the circumstances of the capture of images”, discovering “who has captured them, on what day, time and exact place, with what equipment and to what extent that person was on the premises”, and ordering “the immediate preservation of the records of the surveillance system relating to the place and period concerned, so that they are not disposed of before the discharge”.

The Bloquist also wants Aguiar-White to ask the Committee on Transparency and the Statute of Members to open an inquiry and suggests that the theme be taken to the next conference meeting of parliamentary leaders in order to “clarify and communicate” to all Members and their advisers “the rules for capturing and disseminating images of persons within the premises of the Assembly of the Republic, explicitly covering corridors and common areas and not just the spaces devoted to parliamentary groups”.

Fabian Figueiredo also asks that the President of Parliament issue a “general declaration or recommendation on the capture and dissemination by deputies of images of other deputies, officials and visitors inside the premises of the Assembly of the Republic”.

In support of the complaint, the deputy considers that the parliament is required to pronounce “on whether it is deemed to be tolerable the capture, by default of the target, of images of a deputy within the parliamentary premises, and its disclosure by another deputy for political and party communication purposes, with the clear objective of exposing the physical condition of another deputy to the public mockery”.

The bloquist points out that “the corridors of the Palace of São Bento are not the public road”, but a space with “conditional access, where deputies, officials, advisors, accredited journalists and visitors circulate under rules of access and security fixed by the Assembly of the Republic”.

Fabian Figueiredo argues that this conduct harms the “freedom of office” laid down in the Statute of Members, as well as “the reservation and security of parliamentary facilities, which protect all those who move around”. “The dignity of the institution itself, which cannot be a scenario for the production of propaganda content against its members,” he said.

Finally, the BE Member points out that this is not a record of a public act as a vote or intervention, but rather “filming the body of a colleague to expose it”.

In addition, Fabian Figueiredo argues that the comment made by the deputy of the Aça Marcus Vinicius Teixeira Soares dos Santos constitutes a “flagrant violation of the most elementary duties of a deputy” and an “apology of violence and a direct threat” to his physical integrity.

“ The normalization of a discourse based on intimidation, led by an elected representative against his partner, directly hurts democratic principles, parliamentary urbanity rules and mutual respect enshrined in the Statute of Members, constituting a gross and unacceptable violation of the duties inherent in the exercise of the mandate”, reads the complaint.