Defamation: the documented truth
Throughout my intellectual life, I have learned, researched, written, and transformed my work alongside extraordinary women. I have always treated my female colleagues, students, research partners, and friends with loyalty, respect, and dialogue. I acknowledge in them a decisive part of what I have been able to achieve. I salute them from the bottom of my heart. It is from this concrete experience of camaraderie and mutual recognition that I draw my conviction that the fight against injustice must be unwavering, no matter who the perpetrator of injustice might be.
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In April 2023, an anthology chapter appeared containing speciously anonymized allegations against CES and some of its researchers, including myself. I assumed from the outset that the chapter was directed against my institution as a whole, against me personally, and against two other colleagues in particular. I had a clear conscience and a year later, in April 2024, a CES established Independent Commission to investigate the charges issued a report that did not directly or specifically accuse me of anything. Thirteen complainants, dissatisfied with the report, drafted and signed a seriously defamatory letter against me and my two colleagues, Maria Paula Meneses (Mozambican) and Bruno Sena Martins (Cape Verdean). Based on the chapter and, subsequently, on that letter, I became the target of an intense media war and of political persecution by CES, which resulted in the most egregious character assassination against me. Over the past year, the complainants have reported false facts without presenting a single piece of evidence. My only access to the complaints was through the press.
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I always knew that to confront the allegations with only my version of events would be useless because, in the current #MeToo context, the complaint alone is sufficient for public condemnation. For that reason I assembled documentation, sometimes from foreign individuals and governments, so that my account of events, unlike that of the thirteen complainants, would be backed up by evidence that demonstrate the falsity of their allegations. It took time to do this. But if I hadn't done so, we would have remained on the terrain of opposing accounts of events. And doubt about the allegations is not enough; I want people, both those close to me and strangers, to be certain that the allegations these women have made against me are false.
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I have been denounced in the media for over two years and legal efforts to protect my name are stalled, That is why I present here the documented accounts of my professional relationships with twelve of the accusers. The thirteenth (Miye Tom) attended my classes but she was not mentored by me and I had no professional contact with her. In fact, I only had ongoing professional contact with four of the accusers (Sara Araújo, Teresa Cunha, Aline Mendonça, and Élida Lauris). I had three meetings with the main author of the defamatory chapter, which was withdrawn in September 2023 by the book's publisher (Routledge) for violating British defamation law (Lieselotte Viaene).
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I also present documentation on my professional relations with the only complainant obliquely mentioned in that chapter (Isabella Miranda); with the complainant who, coinciding with the publication of the chapter, gave a seriously defamatory interview to the Spanish magazine El Salto (Moira Millán); with a complainant who participated in one of the summer courses organized by the ALICE Project (Mariana Cabello Campusano); with a researcher whose contract was not renewed in the ALICE project (Carla Paiva); and with three other complainants who, for the reasons and documents I present, I cannot imagine why they signed the letter (Eva Chueca, Julia Krabbe, Gabriela Rocha).
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By publishing these documents, I am waiving my right to privacy. But I do so without fear and with the certainty that the documents clearly demonstrate that there was no sexual, moral or workplace harassment, nor was there extractivism. And the documents reflect the mutually professional and friendly relationships that existed between these women and myself.
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It is public knowledge that I have not been accused of any wrongdoing by CES (I refer the reader to the text "Why I resigned from CES, part 2," which can be found at: https://aviagemdosargonautas.net/2025/05/13/porque-me-demiti-do-ces-part-2-by-boaventura-de-sousa-santos/ ). To my knowledge, no accusations, or even complaints, have been made to the courts, the ACT (Authority for Labor Conditions) or the Commission for Equality in Work and Employment (CITE), which has existed in Portugal since 1979. The people who are accusing me have chosen to keep the harassment they complain about out of the reach of the authorities and the courts, thus preventing me from being able to defend myself against their accusations. For this reason, I have been forced to resort to the civil and criminal courts to defend myself against allegations of which I am only aware through the media and social networks.
[1] In the civil courts, on September 26, 2024, I initiated special action for “the protection of personality” against the complainants residing in Portugal. The purpose of the proceedings in question is, as its name indicates, to protect personality rights, such as the right to a (good) name. That right was deliberately attacked following the publication of a letter signed by the complainants and sent by them to the media, to CES, to the Public Prosecutor's Office, and to several universities with which I have collaborated.
Contrary to what might be expected in accordance with the provisions of this type of procedure, this action has not yet been concluded. Half of the testimonial evidence has not yet been presented to the court. Curiously, all the statements from the witnesses in my support cannot be heard due to an alleged problem with the recording of the witnesses’ statements. Even more curiously, this problema did not exist when the statements of the signatories of the letter were recorded. The Court has been trying for several months to recover the recordings of the witnesses on my behalf. If the Court’s recovery effort is unsuccessful, my witnesses’ testimonials will have to be repeated. In the meantime, the ‘trial’ in the ‘court’ of public and social media continues.
I tried, even at an early stage in the proceedings, to have the Court prevent the four defendants from making public statements against me until the final judgment was handed down. To no avail. As a result, those four defendants, as well as some of the foreign women against whom I also initiated a personality protection proceeding (but which was filed later), gave an interview to the NOW channel, in which they accused me of various types of harassment.
In January of this year, I submitted a brief demonstrating the international impact that the allegations have had on my personal and professional life and requesting the inclusion of dozens of testimonies. I am still awaiting a decision on this request.
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Perhaps because I am not a beloved actor or a soccer player who excites the crowds, but rather a sociologist who has always fought for the rights of minorities and the disenfranchised, the media treats me differently. They do not grant to me the same presumption of innocence as they might grant to others; they do not publish texts by extraordinary men and women who, convinced of my innocence, proclaim it publicly; they have no interest in disseminating (or analyzing) the thousands of pages of documentation (such as all the messages and emails I exchanged with the complainants) that demonstrate that I never engaged in harassment. Instead, the media are interested in what catches the distracted attention of the public, in what sells -- scandalous headlines, blame, condemnation, Nothing else matters.
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I am 84 years old. I hoped that the civil action to protect my reputation would lead to a quick decision that would somehow clear my name. But now, almost a year after initiating the action, I understand that these rulings will have no useful effect on my good name. The damage is done and is irreversible. Therefore, today I have informed my lawyers of my decision to abandon the civil actions. However, my conscience will not allow me to silently accept such injustice – even if it is not possible to protect my name. For this reason, contrary to my wishes a year ago, I have initiated criminal proceedings for defamation against all the signatories of the letter.
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I know that this statement may provoke reactions from the complainants and, perhaps, from public figures and people who believe that taking the side of those who accuse me is ipso facto defending victims of harassment. I understand the prophylactic concern. It is easy and generates instant applause on social media. But victims are not identified as such without evidence and with the uncritical, summary condemnation of those who, for decades, have fought against injustice.
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I am proud of my professional and personal history. If you want to know what really happened, I invite anyone who wants to take a position on the basis of facts to read the documents that I have made available with relevant links on my website – https://www.supportboaventuradesousa.com/ Also included there are links to all the documents I submitted to the court relating to each complainant. The full documents are available in Portuguese and Spanish; executive summaries of the documents in English are available as well.