Hate crime legislation in Portugal
Criminal Code of the Portuguese Republic (Decree Law 48/95, last amended by Law 15/2024)
(Unofficial translation, emphasis added)
Excerpts related to Hate crime
Article 132 – Aggravated Murder
1. When death is produced under circumstances that reveal a special reprehensibility or perversity, the offender shall be punished with imprisonment from 12 to 25 years.
2. The following circumstances reveal the special reprehensibility or perversity that is referred to in the previous paragraph, namely, the circumstance that the agent:
(...)
(f) is determined by racial, religious, political hatred or based on the victim’s colour, ethnic or national origin, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity;
(...)
Article 145 – Aggravated assault (serious bodily harm)
1. If the offenses to the physical integrity are produced under circumstances that reveal a special reprehensibility or perversity, the offender shall be punished:
a) With a prison sentence of up to 4 years in the case of Article 143 [simple assault/bodily harm];
b) With a prison sentence of 1 to 5 years in the case of paragraph 2 of Article 144-A [preparatory acts for female genital mutilation];
c) With a prison sentence of 3 to 12 years in the case of article 144 [serious assault/grievous bodily harm] and paragraph 1 of article 144-A [female genital mutilation].
2. The circumstances described in Article 132 of paragraph 2 are likely to reveal the offender’s special reprehensibility or perversity, among others.
Article 155 – Aggravation
1 – When the acts provided for in articles 153 to 154-C [Article 153 – Threat, Article 154 – Coercion, Article 154-A – Stalking, Article 154-B - Forced marriage, Article 154-C - Preparatory acts] are carried out:
[…]
e) By the determining circumstance provided for in Article 132(2)(f)
the offender is punished with imprisonment for not more than two years or with fine for not more than 240 days, in the case of article 153 and 154-C, and with sentence of imprisonment from one to five years, in the case of paragraph 1 of article 154 and article 154-A, and with sentence of imprisonment from one to eight years, in the case of article 154-B.
Excerpts related to Hate speech offences
Article 240 - Discrimination and incitement to hatred and violence
1 - Whoever:
a) Founds or sets up an organisation or carries out propaganda activities that incite or encourage discrimination, hatred or violence against a person or group of persons on the grounds of their ethno-racial origin, national or religious origin, colour, nationality, descent, territory of origin, religion, language, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression or sex characteristics, physical or mental disability; or
b) Participates in the organisations referred to in the previous paragraph, in the activities undertaken by them or providing them with assistance, including funding;
shall be punished with imprisonment of one to eight years.
2 - Whoever, publicly, by any means intended for dissemination, namely through apology, denial or gross trivialisation of crimes of genocide, war or against peace and humanity:
a) Causes acts of violence against a person or group of persons because of their ethno-racial origin, national or religious origin, colour, nationality, ancestry, territory of origin, religion, language, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression or sexual characteristics, physical or mental disability;
b) Defames or insults a person or group of persons because of their racial/ethnic origin, national or religious origin, colour, nationality, descent, territory of origin, religion, language, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression or sexual characteristics; or
c) Threats a person or group of persons because of their racial/ethnic origin, national or religious origin, colour, nationality, descent, territory of origin, religion, language, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression or sex characteristics, physical or mental disability; or
d) Incites discrimination, hatred or violence against a person or group of persons because of their racial/ethnic origin, national or religious origin, colour, nationality, descent, territory of origin, religion, language, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression or sex characteristics, physical or mental disability;
shall be punishable by imprisonment from 6 months to 5 years.
3 - When the offences provided for in the previous paragraphs are committed using a computer system, the court may order the deletion of computer data or content.