Historical Dictionary of Terrorism Third Edition

536 • POLITICAL REFUGEE STATUSright to remain in the country to which they have fled and protectthem from deportation or extradition to the country of origin, maynot include serious nonpolitical offenses, such as murder, assault, orparticipation in acts of persecution against others on account of race,religion, nationality, ethnic affiliation, or political belief. The rightsof refugees to asylum and obligations of nations are specified in theUnited Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees of1951 and also the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees.POLITICAL REFUGEE STATUS. See ASYLUM.POPULAR FORCES OF 25 APRIL (FP-25). The Forças Populares do25 Abril was a Portuguese Communist terrorist group formed in 1980by Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, one of the leaders of the revolution of25 April 1974 against the Salazar dictatorship. The FP-25 group wasdedicated to overthrowing the post-1975 democratic Portuguese governmentin favor of some sort of revolutionary Marxist state. It alsoopposed Portugal’s participation in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO) and was anti-American. The group was not known tohave any ties with sponsoring states or other terrorist groups, althoughit has been speculated that the FP-25 had collaborated with Basque Fatherlandand Liberty (ETA) and the Red Army Faction (RAF) andthat it had received some support from Libya. The name refers to the25 April 1975 military coup that ended the former right-wing regime.The FP-25 also used the names Autonomous Revolutionary Groupsand Armed Revolutionary Organization.FP-25 incidents in 1980–1986 included 26 bombings, includingfirebombings, five armed attacks involving mortars and antitankrockets, and four assassinations, while the remaining five were miscellaneousactions such as a prison breakout, a kidnapping, somerobberies, and the like.On 28 October 1984 the FP-25 tried to fire two antitank rocketsat the U.S. embassy but failed due to a malfunction in the launchingmechanism. On 25 November 1984, the ninth anniversary of thefailed Communist coup attempt, the group fired four mortar roundsat the U.S. embassy but only hit two vehicles. On 9 December 1984it fired four mortar rounds at the NATO Iberian Atlantic Commandheadquarters outside Lisbon, damaging some buildings and one car.On 28 January 1985 it fired three mortar rounds at six NATO shipsat anchor in Lisbon harbor, failing to hit any of them.