The Portugal Appeal Court has lessened the sentence of a former immigration official linked to the 2020 death of a Ukrainian asylum-seeker at Lisbon's airport, reclassifying the crime from "denial of justice" to "abuse of power" and cutting nearly eight months from his custodial term. The ruling, handed down last Thursday, underscores ongoing tensions around accountability and leadership responsibility in what became Portugal's most notorious case of state violence against migrants.
Why This Matters
• Reduced accountability: António Sérgio Henriques, former Lisbon Borders Director, now faces 1 year and 10 months suspended prison instead of the original 2 years and 6 months—a decision that one of three judges openly opposed.
• Victim family still waiting: The Portuguese state paid €713,000 in compensation to the family of Ihor Homeniuk but continues to pursue recovery from the three convicted inspectors, who served approximately 2.5 years in prison after entering custody in August 2023 and were released in late March 2026.
• Institutional overhaul incomplete: The Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras (SEF) was dissolved in October 2023, splitting border control between the Portugal Police (PSP), National Republican Guard (GNR), and criminal investigation under the Judiciary Police (PJ)—yet coordination gaps and staffing shortages persist.
The Revised Conviction
The Lisbon Appeal Court panel concluded that Henriques committed a lesser offense than originally charged. Instead of denying justice and prevaricating, the court found him guilty of abuse of power, which carries a lighter statutory penalty. One dissenting judge argued for full acquittal, noting the Public Prosecutor's indictment never explicitly stated that Henriques "had knowledge of the circumstances" of Homeniuk's death—a procedural flaw the majority dismissed.
The decision, which is now binding, also confirmed six-month suspended sentences for two private security guards who worked the night shift at the Lisbon airport's temporary detention facility. The guards had bound Homeniuk's legs and arms with adhesive tape, an illegal restraint that prosecutors said amplified rumors the Ukrainian was violent and created a "crescendo" that culminated in his death hours later.
What Happened in March 2020
Ihor Homeniuk, a 40-year-old Ukrainian national, died of asphyxiation on March 12, 2020, after three SEF inspectors—Duarte Laja, Luís Silva, and Bruno Sousa—beat him and left him handcuffed and prone in a holding room at the Humberto Delgado Airport. Portugal's borders agency had refused him entry earlier that day.
In 2021, a criminal trial at the Lisbon Central Criminal Court sentenced the trio to nine years in prison for qualified assault causing death. All three were expelled from public service. During the investigation phase they were in home detention, but they turned themselves in to Évora Prison in August 2023 to serve the remainder of their sentence and were released in late March 2026 after serving approximately 2.5 years of actual prison time, citing exemplary behavior behind bars.
The Secondary Trial and Its Outcome
A separate proceeding examined whether superiors and colleagues bore responsibility. The Local Criminal Court of Lisbon in January 2025 convicted Henriques for allegedly protecting the inspectors and fostering a culture of impunity, while two other inspectors accused of negligent homicide by omission were acquitted. Henriques appealed, and the Relação panel sided with him on the charge reclassification, though not on culpability itself.
The two security guards, Manuel Correia and Paulo Marcelo, remain convicted for illegal exercise of private security duties. Prosecutors argued their restraint of Homeniuk with tape—an act outside their legal remit—directly contributed to the fatal chain of events by spreading a false narrative among SEF staff that the detainee was dangerous.
What This Means for Migrants in Portugal Today
For expats, migrants, and asylum-seekers in Portugal, this ruling carries practical implications for the country's evolving immigration system. The sentence reduction for a supervisory official raises concerns among advocates about accountability within the newly restructured Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA), which took over migrant services after SEF's dissolution in October 2023.
The case underscores that even reformed systems require robust oversight. When migrants encounter border staff, detention facilities, or immigration offices, the chain of command matters—supervisors must be held accountable if mistreatment occurs. Henriques's suspended sentence, rather than custodial time, sends a weaker deterrent signal about command responsibility.
For those navigating Portugal's current visa and asylum processes through AIMA, the takeaway is that systemic protections—not individual prosecutions alone—are essential. Migrants should know their rights: documentation of interactions with officials, access to interpreters, and formal complaint channels through AIMA or the Public Prosecutor's Office remain available.
The Restructured System: What Changed
The death of Ihor Homeniuk accelerated the dismantling of the SEF, a hybrid agency that mixed policing with migrant services. As of October 2023, its functions are divided:
• Administrative duties (residence permits, asylum applications) transferred to the newly created Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA), which inherited 347,000 pending cases.
• Airport border control now belongs to the PSP.
• Land and maritime frontiers are patrolled by the GNR's Coastal and Border Unit.
• Criminal investigations (human trafficking, smuggling) sit exclusively with the PJ.
• A Border and Foreigners Coordination Unit (UCFE) under the Interior Secretary-General is meant to harmonize operations.
The transition has been rocky. Trade unions complain of understaffing at checkpoints, insufficient training, and confusion over jurisdiction. Former SEF inspectors integrated into the PJ have been spotted conducting border checks—a task legally assigned to PSP and GNR—prompting accusations the reform is "completely contrary to law."
The Portugal Ministry of Justice pledged in May 2026 that the overhaul is "more secure" and that a full migration to the new system will take roughly three years. Whether Henriques's lighter penalty will affect AIMA's internal culture or police oversight protocols remains to be seen.
Financial Reckoning
The Portuguese state seeks to reclaim the €713,000 paid to Homeniuk's family from the three convicted inspectors, though legal experts caution that recovering large sums from individuals without substantial assets is difficult. Henriques, whose sentence is suspended, faces no direct financial liability under the current ruling.
Meanwhile, AIMA is racing to clear the backlog of residence applications, with a new digital portal launched in 2024 and municipal partnerships rolling out in phases. The agency's performance in the coming year will determine whether the post-SEF era truly represents a pivot to a "humanist" migration model, as officials claim, or merely rebrands old dysfunctions under new letterheads.
What Comes Next
The ruling is final barring extraordinary appeal. Henriques will serve no time in custody as long as he complies with probation conditions. The two guards likewise remain free under suspended terms. The family of Ihor Homeniuk, represented by Portuguese and Ukrainian counsel, has not commented publicly since the appeal decision.
For migrants navigating Portugal's visa and asylum systems, the case serves as a reminder that bureaucratic encounters require proper oversight and accountability mechanisms. AIMA's establishment and the removal of police powers from migrant documentation are steps in the right direction, but effectiveness hinges on resourcing, interagency coordination, and—most critically—a culture shift that treats migrants as rights-holders rather than security threats.
The next major judicial milestone in the Homeniuk affair may come if the state succeeds in its civil recovery action against the three former inspectors. Until then, the reduced sentence for the ex-director stands as a data point in Portugal's uneven reckoning with police accountability, a chapter that lawmakers, judges, and civil society will continue to debate as the country redefines how it polices its borders and who answers when that power is abused.
