Marquis. PGR wants the trial to end "as quickly as possible"

One day after the start of the trial of Operation Marquês, the Attorney General of the Republic reacted this Friday to the criticisms of José Sócrates, in which the former Prime Minister targeted Amadeu Guerra for violating “basic principles of the democratic rule of law”.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a visit to the Almada court, Amadeu Guerra stressed that he had not questioned, in the interview he gave to Observador last week, the presumption of innocence of the main defendant in the Operação Marquês case, but he also expressed his desire to see the trial concluded “as quickly as possible” and for Judge Susana Seca’s power over the conduct of the proceedings to be recognised.

“Regarding the presumption of innocence, I have always asked for people to be convicted, many of them, in my closing arguments, but I have also asked for many acquittals in situations where I was unable to prove the facts. A trial is exactly this: the Public Prosecutor presents the evidence, the evidence is scrutinized by the judge or the collective court, and this is the opportune moment for people to present their defenses. These are the rules of criminal procedure, which I know well. Justice is working,” he began by declaring.

However, the Attorney General of the Republic (PGR) also expressed the “clear perception” that José Sócrates always pointed out in this case the “lack of facts” to accuse him that “it was all a farce”. “Therefore, what he said is that this was the right time to discuss this issue in court. He did not say that engineer José Sócrates had to prove his innocence, he said that there would be an opportunity at trial to prove his innocence. That’s all. He will do it, if he wants to”, he noted.

“If the facts presented by the Public Prosecutor's Office are not proven, we don't need anything else. Now, I also tell you: from what I noticed yesterday, in the allegations made by his lawyer, I think the expression used was 'we will demonstrate the innocence of José Sócrates'. Therefore, I am not the only one who says that. What I heard yesterday is what underlies my intervention, that is, it is at the trial that these situations arise”, he added.

On the other hand, the Attorney General rejected the criticisms made to the Public Prosecutor's Office for the delay in Operation Marquês, recalling the chronology of the process and that eight years have passed since the indictment was concluded. “I put a lot of pressure on the prosecutors, I was heavily criticized by them and I clearly said that if there were no elements and the indictment was not ready by the judicial vacation, no one would go on vacation. We filed the indictment in October 2017. The problem is that eight years have passed, do not blame the Public Prosecutor's Office for the delay in the process”, he said.

When asked whether he was directly holding the former government official and his defense directly responsible for the slow progress of the case until it finally reached trial, Amadeu Guerra did not single out anyone and said that José Sócrates had the law on his side. “I don’t want to blame anyone. Engineer José Sócrates did what the law eventually allows, and it seems that it does. I don’t want to blame the judges either. Investigate and see where things stand. Now, don’t accuse the Public Prosecutor’s Office, because the Public Prosecutor’s Office, as of 2017, had the case ready to go to trial,” he insisted.

Regarding the moments of tension between Sócrates' defense and the president of the panel of judges during the first session of the trial, Amadeu Guerra did not hesitate to endorse the judge's powers of direction over the hearing. “I would like [the trial] to be concluded as quickly as possible. Let's accept that the judge directs the trial, as she has been doing. It is the judge who directs the trial and let's hope that it ends as quickly as possible.”

(article updated at 1:29 p.m.)