“I did not say that engineer José Sócrates had to prove anything, nor did he have to prove his innocence; I did not mention that. I said there would be an opportunity in trial to prove innocence. That’s all. To prove innocence, he will do so if he wishes. If the facts that the Public Prosecutor presents are not proven, nothing more is needed,” explained Amadeu Guerra regarding statements he made to the newspaper Observador a week ago.
The Attorney General was speaking to journalists today at the Almada Court during a working visit to the Lisbon District.
José Sócrates criticized Amadeu Guerra’s statements to Observador when he said that “there should be an opportunity for Sócrates to prove his innocence,” having filed a request for the Attorney General’s recusal.
For the former Prime Minister, Amadeu Guerra places the burden of proof on the citizen, who has to prove their innocence, instead of the State proving guilt.
Today, Amadeu Guerra said he was not regretful about his statements, considering they were misinterpreted, and explained that for many years the Public Prosecutor’s Office was always accused of conducting investigations that were a farce, of constructing poor charges without facts.
“Considering the previous statements about the lack of facts, about the lack of reasons to make accusations, (…) I have the perception that [Sócrates] would prove in court that it was all a farce. Therefore, what I said was that this is the proper time to discuss this issue, at trial,” he argued.
Amadeu Guerra also mentioned that, from what he understood yesterday in the opening statements made by José Sócrates’ lawyer, the phrase used was: “We will demonstrate the innocence of José Sócrates.”
“Therefore, I was not the only one to refer to this. And what I heard yesterday is what underlies my intervention. That is, it is in the trial that these situations are addressed,” he emphasized.
Eleven years after José Sócrates’ arrest at Lisbon airport, the trial of the Operação Marquês has begun, bringing the former Prime Minister and 20 other defendants to court, with over 650 witnesses involved.
There are 117 crimes at stake, including corruption, money laundering, and tax fraud, for which the 21 defendants will be tried in this process. Currently, 53 sessions are scheduled to run until the end of this year, with future sessions to be scheduled, during which 225 witnesses called by the Public Prosecutor and about 20 called by the defense of each of the 21 defendants will be heard.
[News updated at 15:52]
