João Augusto Ferreira de Almeida (3 April 1894 — 16 September 1917) was a soldier in the

Portuguese Expeditionary Corps The Portuguese Expeditionary Corps (CEP, Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Corpo Expedicionário Português'') was the main expeditionary force from Portugal that fought in the Western Front (World War I), Western Front, during World War I. Port ...

of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. After six months of combat, he was convicted of

desertion Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ...

by a court martial and

executed by firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French , rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are usually re ...

. He was the only Portuguese soldier to be executed in the war, and the last person executed by Portugal. The death penalty for civilian crimes had been abolished in 1867 and in the military in 1911, but reinstated in 1916 for military crimes abroad during the theatre of war.

Biography

Ferreira de Almeida was born in

Foz do Douro Foz do Douro (; meaning "Mouth of the Douro") is a former civil parish in the municipality of Porto, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish Aldoar, Foz do Douro e Nevogilde. The population in 2011 was 10,997, in an area of 1.88& ...

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

to a father who was an organist and a mother who was a servant. He himself worked as a chauffeur to Adolfo Höfle, a wealthy German resident of the city. In March 1917, he was sent from

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

Brest, France Brest (; ) is a port, port city in the Finistère department, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany. Located in a sheltered bay not far from the western tip of a peninsula and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an impor ...

as part of the 14th infantry battalion of the

. In July, he was transferred to the 23rd, and also given a 60-day prison term for being absent without leave with the unit's water car, having driven 60 kilometres away to Wavrans. Days later, he disobeyed higher orders. On 29 July, he offered money to fellow soldiers to take him over enemy lines, where he would share maps of Allied positions with the Germans. In August 1917, Ferreira de Almeida faced a court martial and the penalty of death and dishonourable discharge. His defence appealed that the latter punishment was abolished in 1911, so the trial was annulled until the following month. The defence claimed that he was mentally ill, but this was never submitted to judges. On 12 September he was sentenced to death, and shot four days later by a platoon of eleven men. One, Sergeant Teófilo Antunes Saraiva, did not shoot and was investigated for disobeying orders; it was found that the safety lock on his gun was defective.

Legacy

Ferreira de Almeida was initially buried in the cemetery of local

Laventie Laventie (; ) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography A small farming and light industrial town, situated some northeast of Béthune and west of Lille, at the junction of the D166, D173 ...

Pas-de-Calais The Pas-de-Calais (, ' strait of Calais'; ; ) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments of France, with 890, and is the ...

, but was eventually interred with all other Portuguese casualties at the Portuguese Military Cemetery in nearby Richebourg. On the centenary of the execution and 150th anniversary of the abolition of the death penalty for civilian crimes,

President of Portugal The president of Portugal, officially the president of the Portuguese Republic (, ), is the head of state and highest office of Portugal. The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, and their relation with the prime minister ...

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa Marcelo Nuno Duarte Rebelo de Sousa (; born 12 December 1948) is a Portuguese politician and academic who is the president of Portugal since 2016. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party, though he suspended his party membership for the ...

released an official statement requesting the "moral rehabilitation" of Ferreira de Almeida, who had been given a "punishment contrary to human rights". The statement was not an official pardon.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferreira Almeida, Joao 1894 births 1917 deaths Military personnel from Porto Portuguese military personnel killed in World War I People executed by Portugal by firing squad People executed for desertion 20th-century executions by Portugal Military personnel executed during World War I