“Portuguese Dreyfus” Case Reaches the European Court of Human Rights: Granddaughter of ...

Oporto, Sept. 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Isabel Barros Lopes, the granddaughter of Captain Arthur Carlos Barros Basto, a Jewish Portuguese army officer who was wrongfully dismissed from service because of his involvement in the circumcisions of his students in 1937, filed a complaint last week against the Portuguese state at the European Court of Human Rights, seeking justice for her grandfather who has come to be known as the “Portuguese Dreyfus.”

Barros Lopes’s complaint argues that the Portuguese state is in violation of  Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees everyone the right to a fair trial decided within a reasonable timeframe. "This anomalous case that has been undermined and full of obstacles is far from being decided in time, especially since my efforts succeed those of my mother, and those succeeded my grandmother’s, who in turn succeeded those of my grandfather”, she stated.

The case of Barros Basto has been compared to the notorious antisemitic  Dreyfus Affair  in late 19th century France, when Jewish army officer Alfred Dreyfus was wrongfully accused of treason and imprisoned.

“This claim must be classified as urgent and treated as a priority, for it concerns the case known worldwide as the ‘Portuguese Dreyfus’, given the similarities between the separation of service of Alfred Dreyfus (the French Dreyfus) and his contemporary, Barros Basto (the Portuguese ‘Dreyfus’); both were army captains and both were separated from military service in sordid cases that resulted from slanderous anonymous letters,” the complaint said.

Barros Lopes is the Vice President of the Jewish Community of Oporto, founded a century ago by her grandfather, along with other Ashkenazi Jewish residents of the city. Barros Basto attempted to bring hundreds of Marranos (the descendants of Jews who converted to Christianity under coercion during the 15th and 16th centuries) back into the fold of Judaism.

In the 1930s, Barros Basto was accused, anonymously, of homosexuality, an accusation that at that time (and particularly under the dictatorship of António de Oliveira Salazar) was sure to destroy one’s reputation. This was a flimsy pretext for the state to dismiss a Jewish officer from army service. Barros Basto was investigated by the state, but the allegations were dismissed by a military court.

However, the court condemned Barros Basto for lacking the “moral capacity for the prestige of his official function” and the “decorum of his uniform”, and he was permanently expelled from the army. The reasons for the “moral [in]capacity” that removed him had to do with the faith he professed, particularly his involvement in the circumcisions of his students.

Barros Basto was stripped of pay, social benefits, and the right to wear his uniform, display insignia, or to use military distinctions. Nonetheless, he remained under military jurisdiction, should the military again deem his behavior incompatible with the “prestige of his official function” (which he was no longer allowed to exercise) or offensive to the “decorum of his uniform” (which he was no longer allowed to wear).

Since 2011, Barros Lopes has tirelessly sought justice for her grandfather. But despite two favorable decisions – the Portuguese parliament recommended that the government reinstate Barros Basto (2012) and the army proposed to reinstate him as a colonel (2013) – the government has taken no action.

The case took an odd turn in 2023, when the Portuguese state insisted that Barros Basto personally make the request for reinstatement. “This was an absurdity, as he died in 1961 and would have to have been 136 years old to make such an appeal,” says his granddaughter.

Frustrated, Isabel Barros Lopes is now turning to the European Court of Human Rights, asking for "a firm decision against the Portuguese State and an exhortation to said State to reintegrate posthumously the ‘Portuguese Dreyfus’ as colonel and to issue an apology to the family of the targeted officer for a miserable case that has been dragging on for almost a century." She also asks the court to make itself available to the parties with the aim of achieving an amicable resolution to the ordeal.

The Oporto Jewish community has just published a book today entitled  The Portuguese Dreyfus case: A scandal from 1937 heard in the European Court of Human Rights in 2024, now available on Amazon.

Visual Assets:

• In 2019, the community dedicated the feature film Sefarad  to Captain Barros Basto. The film, which recounts the story of the Jews of Oporto since 1923, can be  watched for free  on YouTube.
• A 1923 photograph of the “Portuguese Dreyfus” Captain Arthur Carlos Barros Basto may be provided upon request. (Photo Credit: Courtesy of Isabel Barros Lopes Archives)

For further information, please contact  OportoJewishcommunity@redbanyan.com.

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• The Portuguese Dreyfus case: A scandal from 1937 heard in the European Court of Human Rights in 2024

OportoJewishcommunity@redbanyan.com