In the city of Guarda, presidential candidate Marques Mendes was asked to comment on José Sócrates’ decision to take the Portuguese State to the European Court of Human Rights. He described it as “another maneuver among many that the former prime minister has used to avoid trial and attempt to have the case dismissed.” “I think the Portuguese have already understood this,” he asserted.
Marques Mendes was present in Guarda for pre-campaign activities, visiting the Training, Assistance and Development Center (CFAD) of the Frei Pedro Foundation and participating in the 12th-anniversary celebrations of the ‘2050 Time Capsule’ by Clube Escape Livre.
The candidate emphasized that the José Sócrates case is “definitive proof, for those who might still have doubts, that justice reform is a priority.”
“As President of the Republic, I will place this priority on the public, political, and media agenda,” he assured.
“It’s reasons like these that make justice reform more necessary and urgent. It will be one of my causes as President of the Republic, which requires bridging gaps between the Government and opposition parties,” he added.
Marques Mendes indicated that a justice reform is “deeply connected to everything happening in this case.”
“We need faster justice. Delayed justice is not true justice,” he remarked, suggesting two additional measures for the reform.
The first is to end mega trials. “We cannot continue with mega judicial processes, as is the case here. They take an eternity to resolve; this one hasn’t even gone to trial yet, and that has to change,” he stated.
Luís Marques Mendes also believes that judges should be given “more powers” to “end maneuvers that are clearly dilatory, purely intended to delay the process.”
Former Prime Minister José Sócrates stated today that a “writing error” in 2024, which revived the Marquês Operation case, “which was dead,” was the “last straw” that led to filing a complaint against the Portuguese State.
On Tuesday, in Brussels, Former Prime Minister José Sócrates filed a complaint at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) against the Portuguese State concerning the Marquês Operation.
The defendant justified that a “writing error,” which in 2024 revived the case that “was dead,” was the “last straw” that led to filing a complaint against the Portuguese State.
In his opinion, it is “a ploy that served only to manipulate prescription deadlines and aim to take” the case to trial: “The writing error is just that,” he declared.
