The Portuguese Republic is a constitutional democracy with a President, a Prime Minister, and a Parliament freely elected by secret ballot in multiparty elections.
National elections were held in March The judiciary is independent. Internal security is primarily the responsibility of the Ministries of Justice and Internal Administration. The civilian authorities maintained effective control of the security forces. Members of the security forces committed human rights abuses. The country had a market-based economy with a population of approximately The service sector was the leading source of employment, while employment in agriculture and industry continued to be static or declined.
Manufacturing provided approximately 30 percent of total economic output. The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens; however, there were problems in some areas. There were isolated cases of police brutality, including three cases that resulted in deaths. Prison conditions remained poor, although there were some improvements. Lengthy pre-trial detention remained a problem. Trafficking in foreign laborers and women also was a problem. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life There were no reports of political killings; however, police shot and killed three persons during the year.
In three different cases, police shot and killed three persons who refused an order to stop during apprehension. Disappearance There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment The Constitution prohibits such practices; however, there were infrequent but credible reports that police and prison guards beat and otherwise abused detainees. The Government investigates reports of police mistreatment see Section 1. According to its annual activity report, the IGAI investigated new incidents involving law enforcement agents during Of these incidents, 5 involved the death of a civilian, 3 involved suicides of detainees, and a few involved injuries from firearms.
