The Minister of Interior approves military service as an alternative sentence – Politics

The Minister of Internal Administration agreed on Monday that military service could be an alternative for young people who commit “petty crimes,” as defended by the Minister of Defense.

Speaking to reporters, at the conclusion of the closing seminar of the project “Improving Prevention, Assistance, Protection and (Re)integration Systems for Victims of Sexual Exploitation”, Margarida Blasco said that Defense Minister Nuno Melo “spoke clearly on behalf of the entire government.”

“What we have to acknowledge is that all solutions are the government's intention to apply and adapt them to the current contexts which, as you know, are very difficult,” the minister said.

The minister's statement comes after Nuno Mello, at Universidade Europe, a political training initiative affiliated with the PSD, argued that military service could be an alternative for young people who commit petty crimes rather than placing them in institutions that “in most cases, only serve as a school for lifelong crime.” “, while stating that there are no political conditions to re-impose compulsory military service.

The head of the Bar Association, who attended the ceremony held at the Ministry of Interior, said that she had not analyzed the matter, but explained that “compulsory military service has no meaning at all.”

However, Fernanda de Almeida Pinheiro admitted that “it can be recommended (…) as an alternative punishment, where instead of paying a fine, which people cannot always bear, they choose to perform public service.”

“Military service can be a public service that is provided, if necessary, when it is properly framed, because I don't even know if we are properly qualified to receive this type of service,” the president defended.

In response to a question from journalists about the data of the 2023 Annual Internal Security Report (RASI), which, according to the weekly newspaper Expresso, indicates an increase in the crime of human trafficking and an increase in the violence of criminal networks, the Minister of Internal Administration stressed that the document “has not yet been closed.”

Margarida Belasco said, “The RASI index is still in the process of being finalized, and will continue to be studied and approved by the Supreme Council for Homeland Security,” stressing that she will analyze the RASI data before “reviewing the strategic guidelines.”

But he acknowledged that “the government is interested and will seek to implement all solutions to reduce and combat crime.”