The trial is underway at the Lisbon Local Criminal Court following a criminal complaint against the director of the online newspaper Página Um, Pedro Vieira. The case arises from the publication of articles concerning alleged financial ties between doctors and pharmaceutical companies involved in state contracts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Portuguese Medical Association, along with doctors Miguel Guimarães, Filipe Froes, and Luís Varandas, are seeking compensation of 60,000 euros from the accused.
In addition to the complaint from the Portuguese Medical Association, another case was linked, stemming from a criminal report filed by Henrique Gouveia e Melo, the current candidate for President of the Republic, over articles concerning the vaccination process.
Today’s session focused on defamation charges related to articles involving Henrique Gouveia e Melo, who is participating in the process as an assistant and will testify next week on November 27.
The articles in question allegedly connect Henrique Gouveia e Melo to a vaccination process involving approximately four thousand doctors. During the morning session, the defendant claimed that the information in the article was sourced from documentation obtained through a summons to the Administrative Court. “It was based on this documentation that I wrote the texts,” stated Pedro Vieira.
