Last week, a request submitted by Duarte Lima’s lawyer, João Barroso Neto, suggested that the trial can only proceed with all necessary case elements present. He argued that the Sintra Court ought to request the missing recordings from Brazil once more, via different channels than those used previously, and expect explanations from Brazilian courts should the evidence have disappeared.
The document indicated that documents should be requested “not only from the Saquarema Court [as done previously] but from all courts through which the case has passed,” noting that “to date, none of this has been requested.”
“There is an unwillingness to believe that Brazilian authorities insist on not sending evidence that, precisely (and cunningly), proves what the defendant need not prove: his innocence,” the lawyer further elaborated.
Two weeks ago, the judge presiding over the case at the Sintra Court, Carlos Camacho, acknowledged that “given the inability of Brazilian judicial authorities to provide the complete dossier (…) there is nothing left but to proceed to the trial and discussion.”
The decision to move forward with the trial, even without the missing recordings, came after the Portuguese Attorney General’s Office, through the Department of Judicial Cooperation and International Relations, informed the Sintra Court that Brazilian authorities “reported it was not possible to fulfill the request as the requested images could not be found.”
Duarte Lima’s defense insists on pursuing “to the fullest extent” that the trial occurs “with a complete file and not one lacking defense evidence, including court statements by witnesses who are not believed to have vanished mysteriously.”
Should Brazilian courts fail to locate the missing evidence that was not forwarded to Portugal, Duarte Lima’s defense expects Tto clarify whether the elements were “destroyed, misplaced, stolen, or any other cause.”
Confronted with the lack of evidence—which includes three seized mobile phones and witness statement recordings—lawyer João Barroso Neto even proposed returning the case to Brazil.
Former deputy Duarte Lima was charged with the 2009 murder of Rosalina Ribeiro in Brazil. The trial was initially scheduled for November 2022 but has been postponed due to a lack of notification for witnesses in Brazil and the absence of recordings.
The Public Prosecution believes Duarte Lima received funds in his bank account transferred by Rosalina Ribeiro, pertaining to the inheritance of Lúcio Thomé Feteira.
The former PSD deputy reportedly pressured Rosalina Ribeiro to sign a declaration that the transferred funds belonged to Duarte Lima. When she refused, the Public Prosecution asserts, Duarte Lima allegedly murdered Rosalina Ribeiro.
