Forças Populares 25 de Abril
| Popular Forces 25 April | |
|---|---|
| Forças Populares 25 de Abril | |
| Leader | Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho |
| Dates of operation | 1980–1987 |
| Allegiance | Força de Unidade Popular |
| Motives | Proletarian revolution |
| Active regions | Portugal |
| Ideology | Communism Maoism Revolutionary socialism |
| Political position | Far-left |
| Major actions | Assassinations, bomb and shooting attacks, bank robberies |
| Notable attacks | A total of 20 deaths, among them 14 civilians and 6 terrorists killed on clashes with security forces |
| Status | Defunct |
| Flag | |
The Forças Populares 25 de Abril (English: Popular Forces 25 April; FP 25 de Abril or FP-25) was a far-left terrorist group operating in Portugal between 1980 and 1987, having been allegedly led by Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho. At the end of the judicial process known as "FUP/FP-25", Otelo and other accused members were amnestied of moral authorship and were found innocent of material authorship.
Between 1980 and 1987, the FP-25 was directly responsible for 14 deaths, including that of a child – to which are added the 6 deaths of its members – dozens of shootings, attacks with explosives, robberies.
The Orion operation led to the temporary arrest of more than 70 people, in what became known as the FUP/FP-25 process. The most famous members included Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, José Mouta Liz and Pedro Goulart, among others. The defendants were later accused and charged in court for being a part of a terrorist organization, but the sentence would be partially annulled for unconstitutionality.
The parliamentary majority, made up by the Socialist Party and the Portuguese Communist Party, came to approve an amnesty for everyone involved in the eventual crime of terrorist association (moral authorship), due to the "juridic complexity (...) that doesn't herald the possibility of a solution of justice in reasonable time." The amnesty also ends up involving right-wing and left-wing organizations, approved in 1996 with the support of the President Mário Soares. It follows the previous experience of amnesty in 1979 or the pardon signed by the PM Aníbal Cavaco Silva for the fugitive Ramiro Moreira in 1991, right-wing member of the MDLP (Democratic Movement of Liberation of Portugal), sentenced to 20 years in prison for blood crimes.
For the blood crimes (material authorship), after two not guilty sentences in 2001 and 2003, the Public Ministry didn't appeal leading to the prescription of the sentences.