OPPOSITION BEGINS IN PORTUGAL

The outbreak of terrorism in Angola in 1961 had immediate effects on the work in Portugal. With a flood of false propaganda flowing into the country accusing the Witnesses of inciting the masses to rebellion, Portuguese police began to interfere with their preaching activities. In the town of Évora, some eighty miles (130 km) east of Lisbon, a pioneer, Horácio Arnaldo Duarte, was summoned to the local P.I.D.E. headquarters for questioning. There the police showed him pictures of dismembered Portuguese soldiers and accused the Witnesses of being responsible.

In the summer of 1961 a special pioneer, Artur Canaveira, was followed by P.I.D.E. agents for many weeks. Then in September they arrested him. He relates what happened: “I was accused of subversive activities and of having some connection with Communism. For three months I was subjected to interrogations and vicious beatings in an effort to force me to admit that I was a Communist. Four or five agents at a time would shoot questions at me trying to create confusion. The interrogations always took place at night when my resistance was the lowest, with a radio playing to drown out any screams.”

All this time he was held incommunicado until transferred to the P.I.D.E. prison at Fort Caxias, a Lisbon suburb. Then on January 22, 1962, he was released.

Just four days later, on January 26, 1962, Brothers Eric Britten, the then branch overseer, Domenick Piccone and Eric Beveridge and their wives, all missionaries, were called to P.I.D.E. headquarters and ordered to leave the country within 30 days. They were told that the reason for their expulsion was their talking to others about their religion and teaching neutrality. In an interview with Brother and Sister Beveridge the director of the P.I.D.E. referred to a recent incident where a young Portuguese man had refused military service and asserted that the Witnesses were responsible for his actions. Conscientious objection would not be tolerated in Portugal, he added.

BRANCH OFFICE GOES UNDERGROUND

Due to the increased police surveillance the branch now had to be reorganized for underground activity. It was moved to an inconspicuous shed in the backyard of António Matias, a tailor in Lisbon. Gilead missionary Paul Hundertmark and his wife, Evelyn, had been expelled from Spain in 1960 and were now in Portugal, learning Portuguese. Suddenly, Paul found himself with an underground branch to look after. And what a challenge that was going to be!

PERSECUTION INTENSIFIES

Following the expulsion of the missionaries in 1962, the authorities hardened the campaign of persecution against Jehovah’s Witnesses. They issued a communication to all post offices prohibiting the circulation of our Bible literature, classifying it as “pernicious.” They seized large quantities of Bibles and literature published by the Watch Tower Society, and this literature they cut up and burned. Thousands of subscribers for The Watchtower and Awake! were denied the right to receive their magazines.

In quick succession, police searched the homes of scores of brothers, confiscating literature. The police threatened them with imprisonment if they continued to attend meetings. One of the first brothers to be visited by the police was Manuel Almeida, who presently serves on the Branch Committee. Though having no warrant to enter or search, the police confiscated all publications put out by the Society. Before the wave of persecution ended, this brother not only had his home searched seven times but was summoned an equal number of times for lengthy interrogations by the P.I.D.E. The police then began to raid Kingdom Halls in Lisbon, and early in 1962 the first one was closed down by police order.

FIRST COURT CASE

In 1962 a group of 12 brothers was reported to the police for holding a meeting. The brothers were called to police headquarters for questioning and were threatened with imprisonment if they continued to meet for Bible study. In January 1963 some of the brothers received the following order from the commander of the Public Security Police of Caldas da Rainha:

“I order any authorized agent . . . to notify with all legal formalities [name of brother], residing at [address] Town of Caldas da Rainha, Borough of Caldas da Rainha, that: He cannot continue to exercise his activities of Bible reading or that of Jehovah’s Witnesses or of any other religious character, and in addition to this promote, establish, organize or direct associations of an international character such as the one he has been said to belong to.”

The Public Ministry accused the brothers of holding religious meetings without obtaining authorization. At the opening of the trial on March 21, 1963, the judge was amazed to see the courtroom full of spectators. Generally, court cases of this kind, when the State was the accuser, took only a few minutes. But the fair-minded judge was so interested in seeing that justice was done that the trial lasted nearly three hours. He allowed three witnesses for the accused to speak and asked several questions concerning Bible subjects. The verdict proved to be a favorable decision for true worship, the accused being acquitted.

A CIRCUIT ASSEMBLY CANCELED

In July 1963 a circuit assembly was planned at Faro, on Portugal’s southern coast. The brothers rented a large warehouse to show one of the Society’s films, but someone registered a complaint with the police. At the last minute the brothers canceled the arrangement. It was a wise decision. The police had been advised that there was a “political meeting,” so about midnight a detachment of the riot squad surrounded the warehouse. They drew machine guns for action and prepared for what they thought would be armed resistance. What a surprise when they found the warehouse empty! The circuit overseer, Césario Gomes, was later interrogated at great length. He related what followed:

“All items confiscated in my car were brought in and placed on the police chief’s desk. What really worried me was a list of names and addresses of overseers in the entire circuit. I was certain this list would be seen. Immediately I prayed to Jehovah, asking for his help to protect my brothers, in harmony with the thoughts of Psalm 118:6-8. Then, as the chief of police was examining each item and writing down its description, I was able to place my elbow on the corner of the desk. When he was distracted I managed to remove the piece of paper containing the names. I then asked permission to go to the washroom and speedily flushed the list down the toilet.”