The trial of Operação Marquês was suspended on Tuesday after the former Prime Minister and main defendant, José Sócrates, dismissed his court-appointed lawyer.
Sócrates now has 20 days to appoint a new representative, with the deadline set for December 4.
In a decision made in the courtroom, Judge Susana Seca terminated the mandate of the court-appointed lawyer who had been assigned to represent Sócrates following the resignation of Pedro Delille on November 4. Delille had been Sócrates’ lawyer since his arrest in November 2014.
“I feel completely calm,” stated José Manuel Ramos, marking 27 years of legal practice. However, he admitted that it was “very difficult” to communicate with Sócrates.
“I’ll first inform the Bar Association of the happenings and will later share the details with you. I sent him a letter. It has been difficult to make contact,” he added.
Sócrates previously requested the judge to end what he described as a “regrettable and degrading spectacle” of having a lawyer he did not choose.
The former Prime Minister and main defendant in the Operação Marquês case, José Sócrates, appealed to the judge to end what he called a “degrading spectacle” of having an unchosen lawyer.
“Watching someone on television claim to be my lawyer, without ever having given any mandate, is very displeasing and should immediately cease. If I have twenty days to choose a new attorney, please spare me the distressing charade of someone speaking on my behalf against my will. It publicly highlights the ongoing abuses that have become rampant in this case,” he wrote in a petition seen by Lusa.
Sócrates further argued that his right to a defense could not be guaranteed by someone unfamiliar with the case, nor provided the time or opportunity to review documents during hearings.
He summarized: “I am the one who chooses my lawyer.”
José Sócrates, aged 68, is facing charges in 22 offenses, including three of corruption, for allegedly accepting money to benefit Lena Group, Grupo Espírito Santo (GES), and the Vale do Lobo resort in separate dossiers.
The case involves a total of 21 defendants, who generally deny the 117 financial and economic crimes alleged against them.
[Updated at 10:58]
