João Miguel Gouveia will not face trial for his alleged involvement in the death by drowning of six Lisbon University students at Meco beach in 2013.
The judge in the case has concluded that there was no coercion, or ‘tyrannical behaviour’ by Gouveia and that the six students simply were swept from the beach by a wave and drowned in the rough sea.
In today's statement, the investigating judge from Setúbal Court concluded that was no evidence that Gouveia, aka 'Dux,' the only survivor of the tragedy, had "subjected, at least consciously, his deceased colleagues to a danger that they could not have assessed and avoided themselves" and that Gouveia had no duty of care.
"Thus, the court concludes that there are no facts that could be considered criminal, such as exposure to danger or of abandonment.”
Judge Nelson Escórcio said there was no coercive behaviour by Gouveia and that “the students were on the beach voluntarily when they were swept away by a wave, thus confirming the supposition of an accident put forward by the defence and the prosecutor. With this decision, the case is closed.”
The families' had to appeal to the court in Almada to get this case reviewed in Setúbal after last summer's archiving of the case.
Family members say there should have been a prosecution again João Gouveia who was in charge of COPA, the University organisation that organised pranks, or against the university directorate itself which condoned these widespread initiation ceremonies, many of which are said to be dangerous.
The families were desperate that the deaths of their children should be investigated fully, as they believed that evidence has been suppressed and that the original court case was fixed to save any embarrassing investigations into the culture of freshers’ pranks at the University.
An expert witness at the review into the Meco beach tragedy cast serious doubt on the version of events given by Gouveia. The expert in drowning who works at the Institute of Legal Medicine did not believe that Gouveia also had been swept into the sea but had managed to get back to shore to raise the alarm, as Gouveia had claimed.
The victims' families will now appeal and, if unsuccessful, may then take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.
