“The Public Prosecutor’s Office intends to appeal the decision rendered, which has not yet become final,” stated an official PGR source in response to Lusa, without providing further details.
On November 24, the Central Criminal Court of Lisbon acquitted the current president of the Nurses’ Order, Luís Filipe Barreira, his predecessor Ana Rita Cavaco, and 11 other defendants involved in the first of two terms of the latter (2016-2023) from the alleged embezzlement in 2016 of 63,000 euros from the Order.
The case revolved around the alleged receipt of per diem allowances for presumably fictitious trips, according to the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Luís Filipe Barreira, president since December 2023, was at that time the vice-president of the Board of Directors of the Nurses’ Order.
During the reading of the verdict, the presiding judge, Armandina Silva Lopes, justified the acquittal by stating that there was a “serious and reasonable doubt” as to whether the defendants committed the crimes of embezzlement and forgery of documents with which they were charged.
In the final arguments of the trial, which began on January 20, 2025, the Public Prosecutor’s Office had requested the conviction of the 11 defendants to a suspended prison sentence.
On November 24, the lawyers for the majority of the defendants, Tiago Costa Andrade and Rui Patrício, expressed satisfaction with the acquittal, while Luís Filipe Barreira affirmed that he never expected “any other outcome” than justice recognizing that he committed no wrongdoing.
