Lisbon to appeal fine imposed for sharing data of anti-Putin activists with Russia

Lisbon City Council will appeal a €1 million fine imposed on the municipality for sharing personal data on Russian anti-Putin activists with Moscow, the city council confirmed to Lusa on Tuesday.

"Lisbon City Council confirms that it will appeal the €1 million fine imposed by the Administrative Court of Lisbon relating to the sending of data on Russian activists in 2021, during the presidency of Fernando Medina," the city council’s current executive led by Social Democratic Party (PSD) Mayor Carlos Moedas, said in a written response to Lusa.

It "is unacceptable", said Moedas about the incident that occurred during the previous Socialist administration.

However, it is the municipality's duty "to take action to protect Lisbon residents and safeguard the good name of the institution,” he added.

At the beginning of August, when the council confirmed that it was aware of the judgement "ordering it to pay €1,027,500," it indicated that it was considering whether to appeal.

At the time, Moedas—who has been in charge of the city's executive since 2021—lamented Medina's "heavy legacy" in relation to the case and said he would defend Lisbon's residents.

In January 2022, Portugal's National Data Protection Commission (CNPD) fined the municipality €1.25 million for violating the EU's General Data Protection Regulation by "communicating the personal data of event organisers to third parties." It identified 225 breaches in the municipality's communications relating to demonstrations, rallies or parades.

The fine resulted from a case opened following a report filed with the CNPD on 19 March 2021.  At issue was the fact that the municipality had provided the Russian Embassy in Lisbon and the Russian Foreign Ministry with the personal data of the organisers of a demonstration near the embassy.

The activists, opponents of Vladimir Putin's regime, had staged a protest in January 2021 calling for the release of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. After learning that Lisbon City Council had released their data, they successfully argued that it had endangered their safety and that of their family members in Russia.

The original fine imposed on the Council was reduced by €222,500 due to the statute of limitations on some of the offences.

(Rosa Carreiro - edited by Cristina Cardoso | Lusa.pt)