Portugal's general discussion (general events)

[Mike88]

The report on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church was delivered this Sunday to the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP). The results of the investigation will be released on Monday.

Commission estimates that at least 4,815 children were sexually abused in the Catholic Church in Portugal since the 1950's:

https://twitter.com/SICNoticias/status/1625101937371643907

Sexual Abuse in the Church: Independent Commission Findings. At least 4,815 abused children in Portugal.

The Independent Commission for the Study of Sexual Abuse of Children in the Catholic Church released this morning, at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, in Lisbon, the conclusions of the work carried out throughout 2022 and which resulted in the collection of hundreds of testimonies from victims. The document was delivered this Sunday to the Portuguese Episcopal Conference.

In the first report of its kind released in Portugal (here in full), it is admitted that there were “at least” 4,815 victims of sexual abuse in the Church.

The presentation of the document began with Pedro Strecht, who chairs the independent commission. The child psychiatrist began by paying tribute and sincere homage to the victims of abuse" which "are much more than numbers or statistics" and added that 512 validated testimonies were received, of which 25 cases were sent to the Public Ministry.

With these complaints it was possible to identify "a minimum number" of 4,815 victims, explained Pedro Strech, stressing that it is not possible to define the number of crimes "because most children were abused more than once".

The independent commission received more than 600 complaints and 96% of abusers are male. Complaints come mainly from the national territory, in particular from five districts: Lisbon, Porto, Braga, Santarém and Leiria.
(...)

[Mike88]

Portuguese Catholic Church apologizes to the victims of abuse and says they do not tolerate abuse nor abusers:

https://twitter.com/sapo/status/1625167639696867331

"It's an open wound that hurts and shames us." Catholic Church asks “forgiveness to victims” and says it does not tolerate “abuse or abusers”

The president of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference, D. José Ornelas, made a statement on behalf of the Portuguese Catholic Church, apologizing to the victims and their families. Underlining that the institution will have to impose "zero tolerance" for abuses and their concealment, the bishop nevertheless admitted that "some things" were not communicated to him as due.
(...)
"It is an open wound that hurts and shames us. We ask forgiveness from all the victims. Those who courageously gave their testimony, silent for so many years, and those who still live with the pain in the depths of their hearts without sharing it with anyone" , admitted the president of CEP.

"Zero tolerance for abuse needs to be a reality across the Church, and that's why we will not tolerate abuse or abusers," he said. After analyzing the commission's final report, the CEP will seek "the most effective and appropriate mechanisms to encourage greater prevention and to resolve possible cases with speed and respect for the truth."
(...)

[Mike88]

The shockwaves of the Catholic Church sexual abuse report continue:

- Parties, left to right, support the idea to extend the statute of limitations for abuse crimes from the current 23 years to 30 years, like the report proposes. So far, party leaders from PSD, CHEGA, IL and BE support the idea;

- The abuse report points that more than 100 priests that committed sexual abuses are still active in the Church and the community. A list was compiled and it will be sent to the DA office;

- The controversial statement from President Marcelo and other Bishops, last year, that seemed to downplay the number of abuses in Portugal, infuriated, according to the report, victims and led more to come out and tell their story to the committee. In the report, abuse victims say that Marcelo's and other Bishops remarks were "insulting", "revolting" and "inadmissible";

- The report also says that parts of the Church continue to be non cooperative in denouncing abuses. The report writes that the dioceses of Setúbal and Beja did not respond to the committee nor collaborated in denouncing abuses;

[Mike88]

Strike in the cereal unloading and storage company, Silopor, is threatening supply of essential goods:

https://twitter.com/expresso/status/1625800017372975105

Cereal supply to Portugal will get worse next week: some products may be missing from the supermarket and prices should rise

Professionals in the food sector warn of the possibility of disruption of essential goods due to the strike by the bulk food unloading and storage company, Silopor.

The alerts come from trade organizations and the food industry.

According to Jornal de Notícias, the secretary general of the Portuguese Association of Compound Food Industry for Animals (IACA), asks the Government to reach a consensus with the company's workers, so that the strike does not go on for much longer. He also warns that there are "ships that should be unloaded in three or four days, but they are taking longer".

The Ministry of Agriculture guarantees that there are no problems or failures in the supply of products, something that is confirmed by the head of the IACA. However, Jaime Piçarra says that this is a possible scenario if the strike continues.

The secretary general of the National Association of Stockists, Traders and Importers of Cereals and Oilseeds, José Miguel Ascensão, also admitted to JN that "millions of damages caused by ships that are waiting" are at stake and that, therefore, it is better for the Government to respond to the demands of Silopor workers, such as salary updates.

The associations recall that at stake may be "a new price increase and the occasional disruption of supply", if the strike continues.

The stoppage of these workers began in early February.

[Mike88]

Strike in the cereal unloading and storage company, Silopor, is threatening supply of essential goods:

Just hours after this warning, the government caved in and decided to negotiate with unions and the strike was suspended. Unions will now wait for the company's proposal on wage increases.

[jojoju1998]

The shockwaves of the Catholic Church sexual abuse report continue:

- Parties, left to right, support the idea to extend the statute of limitations for abuse crimes from the current 23 years to 30 years, like the report proposes. So far, party leaders from PSD, CHEGA, IL and BE support the idea;

- The abuse report points that more than 100 priests that committed sexual abuses are still active in the Church and the community. A list was compiled and it will be sent to the DA office;

- The controversial statement from President Marcelo and other Bishops, last year, that seemed to downplay the number of abuses in Portugal, infuriated, according to the report, victims and led more to come out and tell their story to the committee. In the report, abuse victims say that Marcelo's and other Bishops remarks were "insulting", "revolting" and "inadmissible";

- The report also says that parts of the Church continue to be non cooperative in denouncing abuses. The report writes that the dioceses of Setúbal and Beja did not respond to the committee nor collaborated in denouncing abuses;

Does the Portugese Catholic church have something similar to the Dallas Charter accords that the US Catholic Church developed in 2002 ?

[Mike88]

The shockwaves of the Catholic Church sexual abuse report continue:

- Parties, left to right, support the idea to extend the statute of limitations for abuse crimes from the current 23 years to 30 years, like the report proposes. So far, party leaders from PSD, CHEGA, IL and BE support the idea;

- The abuse report points that more than 100 priests that committed sexual abuses are still active in the Church and the community. A list was compiled and it will be sent to the DA office;

- The controversial statement from President Marcelo and other Bishops, last year, that seemed to downplay the number of abuses in Portugal, infuriated, according to the report, victims and led more to come out and tell their story to the committee. In the report, abuse victims say that Marcelo's and other Bishops remarks were "insulting", "revolting" and "inadmissible";

- The report also says that parts of the Church continue to be non cooperative in denouncing abuses. The report writes that the dioceses of Setúbal and Beja did not respond to the committee nor collaborated in denouncing abuses;

Does the Portugese Catholic church have something similar to the Dallas Charter accords that the US Catholic Church developed in 2002 ?

They have now guidelines of what to do when they receive an accusation of sexual abuse, but not an overall Charter on how to deal with it. The Church top bosses, in Portugal, will meet in March to analyse the report and discussing possible action to take.

In my opinion, the Church's response is a bit awkward. There is still strong resistance in some parts of the Church in order to disclose or talk about abuses, like the Setúbal and Beja examples, not to mention the low numbers of accusations from rural Portugal. Not sure what they really want to do, to be honest.

[Mike88]

Abuses in the Church: Madeira priest, with an international warrant against him, tried to turn himself to authorities, but no one receives him.

https://twitter.com/JornalNoticias/status/1626583765471621120

Priest accused of abuse wants to turn himself in and no one receives him

Anastácio Alves, a former priest from Funchal, accused of four crimes of sexual abuse of children and sexual acts with teenagers, reportedly tried to turn himself in at the Attorney General's Office, where they refused to receive him. There was an international arrest warrant in the name of a parish priest, whose whereabouts were unknown.

The attempted surrender, reported by Observador and SIC, took place this Thursday and Anastácio Alves intended, according to the same sources, to be made an accused and assume "responsibilities". JN questioned the PGR about the reasons that motivated the refusal to receive the priest, but so far it has not received an answer.

“It is difficult to collaborate with the justice, even more so in a week when a report on abuses in the Church is published. things, it seems that no one knows what they are doing. This is sad. It is not a problem of justice, it is a problem of the country. It reflects what the country is in terms of bureaucracy, we are a country of 'alpaca mangoes' ", says lawyer Miguel Santos Pereira, in statements to Lusa.
(...)

This country...

[Mike88]

Portuguese Parliament light up with colours of the Ukrainian flag to mark 1 year of the war:

https://twitter.com/AssembleiaRepub/status/1628860876815040513

Tonight, the façade of the São Bento Palace is illuminated with the colors of the Ukrainian flag, signaling the solidarity of the Assembly of the Republic to that country, when it completes one year since the start of the invasion of Russia.

[Mike88]

3.3 magnitude earthquake felt this morning in the Algarve region:

https://twitter.com/LastQuake/status/1629049331780096001

An earthquake of magnitude 3.3 was felt, this Friday, in the Faro region, according to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA). About half an hour earlier, another earthquake was recorded 25 kilometers from Cabo de São Vicente.

The stations of the Mainland Seismic Network recorded, at 9.15 am, an earthquake of magnitude 3.3 on the Richter scale about 45 kilometers south-southwest of Faro.

"This earthquake, according to the information available so far, did not cause personal or material damage and was felt with maximum intensity II/III (modified Mercalli scale) in the Faro region", reads the IPMA statement.
(...)

[Mike88]

Priest found dead at Gerês National Park was accused of harassment hours before his dead:

https://twitter.com/observadorpt/status/1628795111596236802

Évora priest found dead in Gerês had been reported hours earlier for harassment

The priest found dead on Tuesday night in the Gerês area had been the subject of a complaint of harassment by a vulnerable adult on social networks, Observador found out from a source in the archdiocese of Évora. This was the first formal complaint against this priest with the Church, and there is no record in the diocese's archives or in the testimonies given to the Independent Commission that studied abuses in the Church in recent decades of any similar complaint.

José António Gonçalves, 57 years old, was a parish priest of Santiago de Rio de Moinhos (Borba municipality) and was found dead in Terras de Bouro early Tuesday night. The priest was from that area and would be spending a few days there. As Observador found out from a source in the diocese of Évora, hours before the GNR found him, the Archbishop of Évora, D. Francisco Senra Coelho, had received a family that had denounced the priest for suspicions of “digital harassment”, via chat on social media.
(...)

[Mike88]

Former PM José Sócrates complains to the DA office because Caixa Geral de Depósitos alerted authorities for suspicious movements in Sócrates accounts in that bank:

https://twitter.com/Publico/status/1629081706970902528

Sócrates accuses CGD of slanderous denunciation for having alerted thousands that it received

SIC TV revealed, last night, that former PM José Sócrates is being investigated, yes another one, because of suspicious transfers of money to his account after 2020. According to SIC, Sócrates received around 12,500 euros per month for a being a consultant in a company of a businessman, Adélio Machado, that has several bankrupt companies in France and in Spain. Because Sócrates, which has several corrupt accusations and is currently on trial, is a "PEP", politically exposed person, banks are mandated by law to communicate to the authorities suspicious movement in accounts of PEP persons. Nonetheless, Mr Sócrates is furious and accuses Caixa Geral de Depósitos of "slanderous denunciation" and wrote to the DA office to complaint about this.

Seriously, this guy thinks he's a victim now... For God sake!

[Mike88]

2022 Economy numbers: INE confirms 6.7% GDP growth in 2022.

https://twitter.com/Lusa_noticias/status/1630530833046970369

INE confirms GDP growth of 6.7% in 2022, the highest since 1987

Lisbon, Feb 28, 2023 (Lusa) – The Portuguese economy grew 6.7% in 2022, the highest rate since 1987, and 3.2% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of last year, the National Institute of Statistics reported today ( INE).

Overall 2022 numbers:

GDP growth: 6.7%
GDP: 239,5 billion euros
GDP per capita: 23,134 euros
Unemployment: 6.0%
Debt: 273,8 billion euros
Debt %: 114.3%
Deficit: -1.5%*
Inflation: 7.8%

*Estimation based on the December 2022 data. Numbers still to be confirmed.

[Mike88]

Inflation surge: Record cut on food spending by consumers.

https://twitter.com/SICNoticias/status/1630886180878180353

Portuguese made the biggest cut in food expenses on record

Portuguese families made the biggest cut on record in food purchases last year.

According to today's Diário de Notícias, with data from INE, the Portuguese spent 573 million euros less on food compared to 2021. A reduction in spending that is even greater than in troika times.

At stake is the increase in interest rates and inflation. Despite the slowdown in inflation over the past four months, food is increasingly expensive.

In products such as meat, fish, fruit and vegetables, inflation already exceeds 20%.

[Mike88]

Overcrowded train in the suburbs of Lisbon forced to stop midway:

https://twitter.com/SICNoticias/status/1631044419502714884

SIC received reports of people forcing the doors and jumping onto the line.

A train in the Sintra railway line, that serves several populated Lisbon suburbs, was forced to stop midway as several passengers felt ill due to carriage overcrowding. Several people had to be treated by emergency services and the line was closed for a few hours until the situation was resolved.

The reason for this incident is the ongoing CP trains strike that has been lasting for several days and has cancelled hundreds of trains everyday, making passengers to overcrowd the few remaining trains circulating due to minimum services.

[Mike88]

Overcrowded train in the suburbs of Lisbon forced to stop midway:

CP has opened an inquiry to understand what happened and has apologized to passengers for the incident. Yesterday, more than 75% of the almost 1,000 trains schedule were canceled because of the strike that will end today, 2 March. But, a new strike will start next week, from 10 to 17 March.

[Mike88]

One dead and several injured in an explosion in a military base in the center of Portugal:

https://twitter.com/RTPNoticias/status/1631393941722636291

One dead and several injured in explosion at Santa Margarida base

An explosion registered this Thursday during an exercise at the military base of Santa Margarida, in Constância, caused one death and five injuries. After the accident, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa decided to postpone the meeting of the Superior Council of National Defense that was scheduled for Friday in the early afternoon. "This is a moment of regret for the Portuguese Armed Forces", he stressed in statements to RTP.

In a statement, the Army confirms a "serious incident" at the Santa Margarida military camp this Thursday at 4:40 pm.

The accident occurred during an "explosive ordnance deactivation" operation. The 1st Engineering Regiment's ordnance disposal team had been deployed for the "on-site destruction of ammunition and explosives and rockets".
(...)

[𝕭𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖆 𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖔𝖑𝖆]

Overcrowded train in the suburbs of Lisbon forced to stop midway:

Wow... I was actually on a train of the same line (going back from Sintra to Lisbon) just one or two hours before that one, I can confirm we were packed up like sardines to an extent I had never seen before. And of course the train was half an hour late to begin with.

[Mike88]

Overcrowded train in the suburbs of Lisbon forced to stop midway:

Wow... I was actually on a train of the same line (going back from Sintra to Lisbon) just one or two hours before that one, I can confirm we were packed up like sardines to an extent I had never seen before. And of course the train was half an hour late to begin with.

You were lucky Battista. The chaos due to the train strikes started in early February and still continues, and, adding to the strikes, the train services in Portugal are anything but punctual or usefull. But these strikes are becoming a problem and like I wrote above, another one will start next week. CP workers want higher wages due to inflation but the government is just with its arms crossed and doing nothing. Just absolutely nothing. The media, and social media also, are full of videos of angry passengers lashing out against strikers and of people just being "squeezed" on the trains.

https://twitter.com/Jonatha02529447/status/1631024102122180608

https://twitter.com/sarantao/status/1631096687484628992

[Mike88]

They have now guidelines of what to do when they receive an accusation of sexual abuse, but not an overall Charter on how to deal with it. The Church top bosses, in Portugal, will meet in March to analyse the report and discussing possible action to take.

Church top bosses decide to not remove suspected priests, for now, asks victims to come out publicly, announces a new committee to hear abuse accusations and will do a memorial for the victims:

https://twitter.com/cnnportugal/status/1631751577156419602

Church wants victims of sexual abuse to show their face and will not remove suspected priests who are active.

"To do justice it is necessary to know if there is an abuser, who, when, under what circumstances. And therefore, if this is not discovered and has no plausibility, if there is not an accuser, a deponent, who has a name, can contact... It's not enough to say 'this happened' - you have to know who says 'this happened', where, when, under what circumstances... The list of names [of suspected priests] that we have... . with only the names it is very difficult. Without knowing who denounced, how, why... ", stated José Ornelas.

The Portuguese Catholic Church will investigate the names of active priests who were identified by the Independent Commission for the Investigation of Sexual Abuses but will not, for now, suspend any of the priests and does not believe that there is a "criminal cause" on this list. The Church also wants to know who the victims are.
(...)
The list with the names of about one hundred priests who were accused of abuse and who are still active was distributed by the dioceses, which will now be responsible for investigating "possible cases". "We follow the canonical and civil norms in force", said José Ornelas. "The dioceses are the entities responsible for investigating possible cases. It will be very difficult to investigate because the list we have only has names, without any other data. To determine the validity of a process and a possible criminal case, other elements are needed. "

José Ornelas guarantees that the dioceses will evaluate the data they have. "Each name has to be considered in each diocese to decide what appropriate measures to take and, if there is plausibility of endangering other people and the persistence of abuses", will act. Only at that moment can one of the priests be removed, never before, he said.
(...)
"It is with pain that, once again, we ask for forgiveness from all victims of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church in Portugal", say the bishops in the statement. After analyzing in detail the report delivered on February 13th by the Commission, the CEP decided to carry out "a public gesture of apology" to victims of sexual abuse in the Church next April, in Fátima, and also to hold a memorial at the during the World Youth Day, which will be perpetuated, later, in an external space of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference.
(...)
Thus, the Church undertakes to continue listening to the victims, through a specific group, which will be articulated with the National Coordination Team of the Diocesan Commissions for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Adults. The composition and functioning of this commission are not yet defined, but José Ornelas believes that the model of the previous commission can be used, which proved to be independent and effective, only this time it will respond directly to the national coordination.

Finally, the Church guarantees that it will provide, to all victims who so wish, "the proper spiritual, psychological and psychiatric follow-up", through partnerships with competent institutions in this area. "The wounds inflicted on the victims are irreparable", say the bishops. "We will never reject our responsibilities and we are also committed to making contact with the institutions that are already on the ground to be part of the resolution of this problem that is transversal to the whole of society."
(...)

[Mike88]

They have now guidelines of what to do when they receive an accusation of sexual abuse, but not an overall Charter on how to deal with it. The Church top bosses, in Portugal, will meet in March to analyse the report and discussing possible action to take.

Church top bosses decide to not remove suspected priests, for now, asks victims to come out publicly, announces a new committee to hear abuse accusations and will do a memorial for the victims:

Shock and disappointment: Reactions to yesterday's Church hierarchy meeting are negative.

Several associations and commentators are surprised and disappointed with the results of yesteday's Church hierarchy meeting in Fátima, Santarém district. Associations are accusing the Church of being "non caring", adding that the Church is using "legalisms" to protect themselves, thus creating an ambiguous, and contradictory, speech. Others accuse the Church of just proposing symbolic measures while other accuse the Church of not being able to face the reality of sexual abuses. The fact that no money compensations are even on the table are also a point of criticism.

[Mike88]

Portugal is the 2nd most affected country by fraud involving community funds in the EU. Worse only Italy.

https://twitter.com/JornalNoticias/status/1631928479725031424

Portugal on the blacklist for EU funds and VAT fraud

Portugal is the second country most affected by scams involving European subsidies. Just last year alone, damages of almost three billion euros were caused.

The most recent report from the European Public Prosecutor's Office states that last year 23 investigations were opened for the illegal use of European subsidies and VAT fraud by companies headquartered or operating in Portugal.

In total, the crimes caused a damage of 2.9 billion euros. Only Italy is worse than Portugal, whose investigations point to 3.2 billion euros.

VAT fraud accounts for close to a third of national damages and the cases still pending have harmed the Portuguese State by more than 800 million euros.

The Operation Admiral alone, considered the largest European tax evasion investigation, involving former model Ana Lúcia Matos, led to the seizure of more than two million euros in banknotes on Portuguese soil.

According to the report by the European Public Prosecutor's Office, the seizure of assets in Portugal reached 65.3 million euros, which led the country to enter a podium once again: in this case, it is the third only behind Germany and Italy

[Mike88]

They have now guidelines of what to do when they receive an accusation of sexual abuse, but not an overall Charter on how to deal with it. The Church top bosses, in Portugal, will meet in March to analyse the report and discussing possible action to take.

Church top bosses decide to not remove suspected priests, for now, asks victims to come out publicly, announces a new committee to hear abuse accusations and will do a memorial for the victims:

Shock and disappointment: Reactions to yesterday's Church hierarchy meeting are negative.

The Portuguese Catholic Church continues with its "collective suicide":

- Bishop of Beja: D. João Marcos suggest that priests suspected of abuse could be forgiven.

We are all sinners, we are all limited, we are all flawed. This approach is not very Catholic. In the Catholic Church there is forgiveness. Forgiveness is a new birth. If people are really sorry for what they did and did penance and repaired the evil they did. If there is this new birth, that forgiveness offers us, that is important, we cannot devalue it.

- Patriarch of Lisbon: D. Manuel Clemente says that money reparations would be insulting to victims:

I even find it a little, pardon the expression, insulting to the victims. It's because most of the victims… none of them mentioned compensation.

At the same time, members of the committee that investigated the abuses in the Church are accusing the Bishops of "delaying the problem" and the list of priests suspected of abuse still active in the community are not just names, like the Church is saying, and that it has details and that dioceses know exactly who they are.

[Mike88]

They have now guidelines of what to do when they receive an accusation of sexual abuse, but not an overall Charter on how to deal with it. The Church top bosses, in Portugal, will meet in March to analyse the report and discussing possible action to take.

Church top bosses decide to not remove suspected priests, for now, asks victims to come out publicly, announces a new committee to hear abuse accusations and will do a memorial for the victims:

Shock and disappointment: Reactions to yesterday's Church hierarchy meeting are negative.

The Portuguese Catholic Church continues with its "collective suicide":

- Bishop of Beja: D. João Marcos suggest that priests suspected of abuse could be forgiven.

We are all sinners, we are all limited, we are all flawed. This approach is not very Catholic. In the Catholic Church there is forgiveness. Forgiveness is a new birth. If people are really sorry for what they did and did penance and repaired the evil they did. If there is this new birth, that forgiveness offers us, that is important, we cannot devalue it.

- Patriarch of Lisbon: D. Manuel Clemente says that money reparations would be insulting to victims:

I even find it a little, pardon the expression, insulting to the victims. It's because most of the victims… none of them mentioned compensation.

At the same time, members of the committee that investigated the abuses in the Church are accusing the Bishops of "delaying the problem" and the list of priests suspected of abuse still active in the community are not just names, like the Church is saying, and that it has details and that dioceses know exactly who they are.

Complete chaos as some Bishops are ignoring the country's Church hierarchy and are removing priests suspected of abuse:

https://twitter.com/cnnportugal/status/1633572323159846913

Two bishops made the decision that the Church hierarchy has not yet taken.

In Évora and Angra do Heroísmo, they removed the priests from the respective dioceses who are on the list of sexual abuse complaints and say they are complying with the Pope's recommendations.

The Archdiocese of Évora and the Diocese of Angra do Heroísmo removed three priests who are on the list of alleged abusers that was compiled by the Independent Commission for the Study of Sexual Abuses against Children in the Portuguese Catholic Church. The removal is preventive until the investigation into the allegations concerning these priests is completed.

The information was revealed in two press realeases issued by the Archdiocese of Évora and the Diocese of Angra do Heroísmo, in the Azores, this Wednesday. At stake are three priests, two from the Azores and one from Évora. "While the investigations are taking place, the prelate from Évora decided to remove the priest from the priest's office and from all pastoral activities that include contact with minors, without prejudice to his presumption of innocence", informed the Archdiocese of Évora.
(...)

At the same time, Lisbon's deputy Bishop is doing "damage control" because of the words of the Patriarch of Lisbon about possible reparations to victims and that he had no power to remove suspected priests. D. Américo Aguiar is suggesting that the Patriarch was only using a "formal terminology".

Adding to this, the head Episcopal Conference, D. José Ornelas, which led last week's trainwreck press conference, is acknowledging that the press conference was a mistake and that his words were "unhappy" ones, adding he was unable to communicate what he really wanted.

[Mike88]

13 Portuguese servicemen refused to board a navy ship, to track a Russian ship, because the ship has several safety issues:

https://twitter.com/TSFRadio/status/1635410182837784576

Navy fails Russian ship tracking mission after 13 servicemen refuse to board

The NRP Mondego did not carry out a mission to accompany a Russian ship north of the island of Porto Santo, in Madeira, after 13 soldiers refused, on Saturday night, to embark for security reasons.

This information was transmitted to the Lusa agency by a Navy source.

This action led the Navy to consider that the 13 operatives "did not fulfill their military duties, usurping functions, competences and responsibilities not inherent to the respective posts and positions".
(...)
According to these 13 soldiers, the commander of the NRP Mondego himself "assumed, before the garrison, that he did not feel comfortable leaving with the technical limitations" of the ship.

Among the various technical limitations invoked by the military was the fact that an engine and an electric power generator were inoperative.

Added also, according to the 13 military personnel, that the ship "does not have an adequate sewage system to store oily residues on board, which accumulate in the holds, significantly increasing the risk of fire".

In the note sent to the Lusa agency, the Navy confirms that the NRP Mondego had "a malfunction in one of the engines", but mentions that the mission it was going to carry out was "of short duration and close to the coast, with good meteo-oceanographic conditions".
(...)

Because of this refusal, the 13 servicemen are being investigated for disobedience, but the servicemen are saying they are being threatened with prison for their actions. Commentators argue that this situation isn't new and it's a result of years and years of budget cuts in military spending.