Former Economy Minister Manuel Pinho and his wife, Alexandra Pinho, have filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). They seek a declaration that their rights, including the presumption of innocence and access to a fair trial, were violated.
The defense claims the presumption of innocence was breached because national courts based convictions on mere assumptions of guilt. Further, the defense argues that the right of the accused to know the specific facts they faced when charged in July 2017 was violated. The defense states that the national courts’ interpretation of the law constitutes a breach of this right.
The ECHR will now assess the complaint after accepting it.
Manuel Pinho expressed to Lusa that he has been the victim of a judicial error. He stated, “It would have been preferable if the errors we point out in the complaints—and which I have highlighted in appeals—had been properly evaluated and recognized in national justice. But since that did not happen, we had to act internationally,” said the former Economy Minister.
Manuel Pinho, 70, was convicted of passive corruption, money laundering, and tax fraud. Ricardo Salgado, 80 and diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, was convicted of active corruption and money laundering, and Alexandra Pinho, 64, was convicted of money laundering and tax fraud.
The Central Criminal Court of Lisbon’s conviction, fully confirmed by the Lisbon Court of Appeals, dates back to June 2024. On March 25, 2025, during the closing arguments of the appeal to the Lisbon Court of Appeals, the defense reiterated that Pinho “is innocent of the crime of corruption.”
While the decisions under investigation in this case do not involve EDP, the case stemmed from an investigation into the so-called excessive rents of the utility company, with charges brought in October 2024 by the Public Prosecution Service, including against the former minister.
Manuel Pinho has been under house arrest since December 2021, while other defendants remain free.
