The Public Prosecutor’s Office asserted today its determination to support the facts presented in the charges of Operation Marquês, as the defense teams countered the alleged crimes in their opening statements and requested the acquittal of the defendants.
“We will fight to establish the facts of the accusation, we will give our best,” stated prosecutor Rómulo Mateus during the brief introductory statement of the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP), which further expressed commitment to an indictment and a ruling order.
Some defense attorneys waived their initial statements, but those who spoke contested the MP’s charges, with several requesting acquittal for their clients.
Pedro Delille, representing José Sócrates, mentioned that his client “would be in favor” of granting the request from TV channels CMTV and Now for the complete broadcast of the trial, “unedited, simultaneously” with the trial’s proceedings, at least from the point of evidence presentation.
Delille criticized that “the non-broadcast of the trial does not meet the publicity needs of the process,” further condemning the public judgment already made “in the public square, driven by the MP, since the day engineer Sócrates returned from Paris.”
Francisco Proença de Carvalho, lawyer of former banker Ricardo Salgado, who was absent from court due to an Alzheimer’s diagnosis exemption, insisted on the violation of his client’s procedural and defense rights being tried despite the assessment of cognitive incapacity.
Proença de Carvalho argued that the court insists on “not acknowledging” this diagnosis, necessary “consequences” to uphold his client’s dignity.
Regarding the accusation against Salgado, he claimed that it “does not rely on any evidence” and is based “on a theory, a story.”
“If we can resist the ‘justice-seeking’ attitude the MP has always attempted to impose, the only possible outcome is the acquittal of Dr. Ricardo Salgado,” he said.
José António Barreiros, representing Zeinal Bava, former Portugal Telecom (PT) executive, rejected any illegality in receiving funds from Grupo Espírito Santo (GES), affirming they stem from a valid, fully executed contract, including the complete return of funds as stipulated.
Dirce Rente, lawyer for Henrique Granadeiro, also a former PT executive, defended the legality of Sonae’s takeover bid for PT, rejecting that PT was managed “at the whim of a shareholder,” BES, with a minority position, and denying that her client acted under Ricardo Salgado’s directions within the company.
“There is an alternative explanation for everything the accusation sees through its gray lenses,” said the lawyer regarding the accusations against her client.
At the formal identification of the defendants, José Sócrates provocatively addressed Judge Susana Seca, questioning if there would be “any more warnings” in response to a morning warning for not complying with her decision not to allow him to speak after he requested to do so.
“I didn’t know that people were warned when they ask to speak. But we are always prepared for a new experience,” Sócrates stated.
Eleven years after José Sócrates’ arrest at Lisbon airport, the trial of Operation Marquês began today, bringing the former Prime Minister and over 20 defendants to court, with more than 650 witnesses involved.
A total of 117 crimes, including corruption, money laundering, and tax fraud, will be tried involving the 21 defendants in this case. So far, 53 sessions are scheduled to extend through the end of this year, with further sessions to be scheduled later. During this trial, 225 witnesses summoned by the Public Prosecutor’s Office will be heard, along with around 20 called by each of the 21 defendants’ defense teams.
