Under the Case Pilot, the applicants seek a court order to shut 12 prisons within a year and to ensure each inmate has at least seven square meters of usable space in their cell, excluding furniture and bathrooms.

These payments cover roughly the last nine years and arise from 14 judgments, settlements, and unilateral recognitions.

A prisoners’ lawyer argues the conditions constitute a systemic, structural violation of the European Convention on Human Rights and has begun a TEDH Case Pilot to press for reform.

The lawyer contends the ongoing TEDH case demonstrates degraded treatment and a broader systemic problem in Portugal’s prison system.

Media reports indicate around 850 prisoners are pursuing damages at the ECHR over poor prison conditions, fueling calls for systemic reform.

Advocacy groups criticize the government for inaction, calling the prison crisis a European shame and urging swift changes.

Discussions about structural prison reforms and the possibility of large compensations loom if the Court rules against Portugal, along with potential closures and space improvements under the Case Pilot.

Over the past nine years, the TEDH has reviewed 280 Portuguese prison-condition complaints, dismissing 112 cases and currently holding 854 unresolved inquiries.

Overall, more than 850 complaints remain pending at the TEDH, representing about 90% of Portugal’s total pending cases at the Court.

Portugal has paid about 1.5 million euros in compensation to prisoners since 2016 for inhumane prison conditions, with the European Court of Human Rights (TEDH) handling more than 850 related complaints.

Thirteen complaints seek compensation from 12,000 to 144,000 euros, including claims from inmates jailed for drug offenses or theft, with the largest demand from a woman serving ten years for homicide.

Advocacy groups plan to file weekly new complaints and have assembled a team of lawyers asking for 1,000 euros per month per inmate held in substandard conditions until reforms take effect.