Licínio Pereira da Silva (died April 1, 2008) was a former Portuguese

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...

under the regime of

António de Oliveira Salazar António de Oliveira Salazar (28 April 1889 – 27 July 1970) was a Portuguese statesman, academic, and economist who served as Portugal's President of the Council of Ministers of Portugal, President of the Council of Ministers from 1932 to 1 ...

, an era of Portuguese history known as the Estado Novo. Pereira da Silva was the last political prisoner convicted by the Polícia Internacional e de Defesa do Estado, better known as the

PIDE The International and State Defense Police (; PIDE) was a Portuguese security agency that existed during the '' Estado Novo'' regime of António de Oliveira Salazar. Formally, the main roles of the PIDE were the border, immigration and emigrati ...

, the secret service force used by the Salazar regime to repress dissent during the Estado Novo. Licínio Pereira da Silva was arrested by the PIDE and accused of supporting desertions in the Portuguese colonies in Africa. He was tried by a special court armed with security measures, which was usually reserved for prisoners who were considered to be a major threat to the Salazar regime. Pereira da Silva was convicted and sentenced to six years in prison in 1973. However, Pereira da Silva was released from prison in Peniche on April 25, 1974, following the beginning of the

Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution (), code-named Operation Historic Turn (), also known as the 25 April (), was a military coup by military officers that overthrew the Estado Novo government on 25 April 1974 in Portugal. The coup produced major socia ...

. He was the last political prisoner of the

. Licínio Pereira da Silva died of a

nosocomial infection A hospital-acquired infection, also known as a nosocomial infection (from the Greek , meaning "hospital"), is an infection that is acquired in a hospital or other healthcare facility. To emphasize both hospital and nonhospital settings, it is s ...

at the age of 63 on April 1, 2008, while hospitalized at the

Hospital Garcia de Orta A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emergency ...

Almada, Portugal Almada () is a city and a municipality in Portugal, located on the southern margin of the Tagus River, on the opposite side of the river from Lisbon. The two cities are connected by the 25 de Abril Bridge. The population of the municipality in 201 ...

. His funeral, with a

cremation Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...

, was held at the Cemitério dos Olivais in

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 ...

on April 4, 2008.

References

External links

Licínio Pereira da Silva obituary

Jornal de Peniche: Licínio Pereira da Silva, last political prisoner of the PIDE, dies
Year of birth missing 2008 deaths Portuguese prisoners and detainees People of the Carnation Revolution Place of birth missing {{Portugal-bio-stub