Coimbra, September 30, 2024- On September 27th, Portuguese Professor Boaventura de Sousa Santos, through his lawyers, João Correia and Afonso Pedrosa, filed a civil action for the protection of his personality and honorability before the Court of Coimbra (Portugal).
This action is filed as a way for the judicial system to ensure the protection of his good name and honor, given the accusations made by the signatories of the so-called 6th collective letter, last March, and later by some of them in a Brazilian periodical.
Professor Boaventura's lawyers state in the lawsuit that “The abundant documentation, which includes all the e-mails exchanged with the defendants, shows that at no time did Professor Boaventura harass them or kidnap them professionally. On the contrary, they always counted on the Professor's understanding and firm support to follow the most varied professional and academic options. The documents that exist are in insurmountable contradiction with what appears in the 6th letter of the self-styled victims' collective and with what appeared in the Brazilian periodical, “Agência Pública”.
Today's action follows the defamatory campaign that has been echoed by the media since April 2023, when Routledge published a book containing a defamatory chapter against Professor Boaventura, several of his colleagues and CES (Center for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra). The publisher has in the meantime withdrawn the chapter from the book given its defamatory and non-scientific character.
From the very beginning, Professor Boaventura has taken a keen interest in the clarification of the facts, as evidenced by his full collaboration with the Independent Commission created by CES, which resulted in a report that did not make any accusations against Professor Boaventura.
However, neither on the occasion of his statement before the Commission, nor subsequently at the request of his lawyers to the Management of CES, has he been informed of the facts or of the specific accusations attributed to him, something totally contrary to due process. This has been a constant all this time and caused Professor Boaventura to appear before the Portuguese Public Prosecutor's Office, last July, to request that he be constituted as a person under investigation and thus be able to prove his innocence before a judicial body.
Inquisitorial process by CES
Despite the fact that the Report presented by the Independent Commission on March 13, 2024, did not make any accusation against Professor Boaventura Santos, a letter with serious attacks, inaccuracies and again defamatory about him was made public just a week later. This letter was signed by thirteen people, four of them researchers of CES.
In addition, on May 23, 2024, an interview was published in the “Agencia Pública” (private site), in which 7 of the 13 signatories of the letter accused Boaventura of very serious facts. As a result of this letter, the CES management opened an investigation process in which Prof. Boaventura was alluded to.
On several occasions, his lawyers have requested verbally and in writing the details of the accusations made against their client in order to be able to exercise their right to defense.
However, the lawyers of CES have
always refused to provide such data in writing, insisting on an oral conversation.
After one of the meetings, last August 29, minutes were taken, signed by all those present, which contain the position of the Professor's lawyers: “Professor Boaventura de Sousa Santos has been asked to comment on the accusations made against him by persons whose identity he does not know and of whose content he has much less knowledge, and we ask that they identify the persons who have denounced the illicit acts of any kind against the professor and describe such acts in writing”.
On September 9 and 13, lawyers Correia and Pedrosa requested this information again in writing, but the response was again negative.
All this explains why Professor Boaventura has decided to resort to courts and file the civil action for the protection of his honor. Professor Boaventura states: “After more than a year and a half of unjust systematic attacks and media and social networks warfare against me, supported by the governing bodies of the institution I created 45 years ago and which seems determined to use me as a “scapegoat”, I was prevented from effectively defending myself, as required by a democratic society governed by the rule of law and the presumption of innocence. As a result of this behavior, out of dignity, consistency and intellectual honesty, I have been forced to take legal action. Unhappily, the behavior of CES which, with the aim of removing me definitively from the institution I created, prevented me from defending myself effectively and from presenting my version and my evidence, left me no alternative but to take legal action against the 13 women who signed the 6th letter. The first action, against the subscribers of the letter who live in Portugal, has already been filed, and the action against those who do not live in Portugal will be filed in the next few days.
It is in the courts, and not in the media or social networks, that I now expect to hear the version of the letter signatories and effectively defend myself. As I have great respect for all researchers in the world who live in a precarious situation, against which I have always protested, and as I vehemently repudiate any form of harassment, the action I have brought against four of the signatories (the Portuguese signatories) is not an action for damages. I only want to prove that the accusations are false. I am not willing to accept or tolerate this smear campaign to continue. CES and the signatories of the letter have given me no choice but to take legal action to defend my name and restore the truth.”
Comments