The Évora Court of Appeal convicted a 32-year-old man to two years and six months of imprisonment, with a suspended sentence, for aggravated domestic violence against a 25-year-old woman. The ruling, dated July 14 and already final, was issued following an appeal filed by the Public Ministry against the acquittal verdict issued by the Reguengos de Monsaraz Court, in the district of Évora.
In addition to the suspended prison sentence, the man was ordered to pay five thousand euros to the victim. The suspended sentence was subject to a probation regime and the obligation to attend a specific domestic violence prevention program. The defendant is also required to stay away from the victim, her home, and her workplace, and is equally prohibited from contacting her by any means, except when strictly necessary for the exercise of parental responsibilities regarding their minor child.
The Évora Court of Appeal considered that the evidentiary assessment carried out by the Reguengos de Monsaraz Court was manifestly contrary to the rules of common experience and exceeds any standard of reasonableness. According to the ruling, the reasoning of the appealed sentence revealed an erroneous assessment of the evidence, whose reasons do not allow for any rational and logical support for the reasonable doubt reached by the judge.
At first instance, the acquittal had been sustained based on the lack of credibility of the victim's testimony in contrast to the defendant's statements. However, the appeal court judges stated that nothing prevents conviction from being formed exclusively based on the testimony of a single witness, since it is subject to the principle of free evaluation of evidence. The court emphasized that the majority of assault acts in domestic violence cases have no eyewitnesses, occurring in the most private side of people's lives.
