Cape Verde MP sentenced to 2 years in prison for domestic violence

A member of parliament in the West African island nation of Cape Verde was sentenced to two years in prison this week for domestic violence against his wife. The assault occurred four years ago, but only went to trial last month.

Cape Verde's National Assembly building. © Facebook

Damião Medina, ruling party MP for the island of Santo Antão, was sentenced by the Porto Novo district court to two years in prison. The sentence was converted into three years suspended sentence. He must attend a social reintegration program for gender-based violence.

The Cape Verdean Institute for Gender Equality (ICIEG) had pushed the National Assembly to lift the MP’s parliamentary immunity, which was lifted in August after two requests from the group.

"No one is above the law, and nothing justifies violence. The fact that he is a deputy, the deputy is also a citizen. We only have to say that we respect the court's decision and we take good note of the fact that this case had an outcome like all the others did," said Rosana Almeida, the ICIEG president, who spoke on Cape Verdean public television.