Portugal ordered to pay former PM, accused of corruption, €15,000

Portugal has been ordered to pay former prime minister José Sócrates €15,000 in compensation after a court ruled that authorities breached judicial secrecy during the early stages of the long-running Operation Marquês corruption investigation.

The ruling, by the Lisbon Administrative Court, partially upheld a civil action brought by Sócrates, who had sought €205,000 in damages over alleged procedural irregularities and the length of the investigation (which began well over a decade over).

According to the judgment, cited by CNN Portugal, judicial secrecy “was not observed”, concluding that “someone among the participants in the criminal investigation disclosed the detention operation” carried out when Sócrates was arrested at Lisbon Airport in November 2014.

The court also found that confidentiality obligations were breached during “other investigative actions carried out by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, in conjunction with the investigating judge and the criminal police”.

During the proceedings, Sócrates accused prosecutor Rosário Teixeira of responsibility for the leaks. However, the court did not attribute personal liability to Teixeira, or any other magistrate.

The judges rejected other key elements of the former prime minister’s claim. They ruled that the lengthy investigation was justified by the “high degree of complexity” of Operation Marquês, citing extensive international judicial cooperation, technical examinations and the analysis of thousands of documents.

Sócrates also argued that statements issued by the Attorney General’s Office presumed his guilt. The court disagreed, finding that prosecutors are entitled to provide “institutional clarification” to the public even while a case remains subject to judicial secrecy”.

The judgment said the official statements merely provided “a very brief factual summary” of the alleged offences under investigation, the suspects involved, the origins of the inquiry and the investigative steps taken.

Operation Marquês, Portugal’s largest corruption case, is still inching its way through the courts. Mr Sócrates has consistently denied all wrongdoing.

CHEGA calls ruling ‘greatest national embarrassment in decades’

André Ventura, leader of the CHEGA party, wasted no time in decrying the ruling, describing the compensation as “the greatest national embarrassment in many decades”, arguing that while thousands of Portuguese citizens continue to wait years for court decisions in an overburdened judicial system, the State has been ordered to compensate a former prime minister accused in one of the country’s largest criminal investigations.

In Ventura’s opinion, the decision highlighted ‘what he described as ‘the unequal functioning of Portugal’s justice system’.

sources: Expresso/ Folha Nacional

Natasha Donn

Journalist for the Portugal Resident.