Lawyers attack MP's attitude in Cova da Moura investigation
Justice01 AUGUST 2017
00:13
Filipa Ambrósio de Sousa
Leader of Lisbon Lawyers argues that a statement made by Maria José Morgado concerning the 18 PSP agents accused of mistreatment is excessive and respects neither the presumption of innocence nor the contradictory
Reports that are too revealing of ongoing investigations, which do not respect the principle of the adversary or the constitutional principle of the presumption of innocence. The criticisms - made by the Lisbon regional leader of the Portuguese Bar Association (António Jaime Martins) - are addressed to a specific addressee: the District Attorney General of Lisbon (pgdl), led by Maria José Morgado. And an identified court case: the accusation of racism and maltreatment made to 18 PSP agents, made public on July 11 on the pgdl website.
"The kind of clarification that is being provided on the official website of some judicial authorities does not contribute either to the safety of people or property, or to public tranquility, quite the contrary," says António Jaime Martins on his Facebook page , With an attached print screen of the communiqué related to the Cova da Moura investigation, published by pgdl. "In addition, those targeted by the investigations have no right to the adversary using the same means and the presumption of innocence is called into question," says the lawyer to the DN.
Maria José Morgado, with her own contradiction, considers that "throughout the civilized world the courts, the Public Ministry and the police publicize their activity as a form of accountability to the community", explains the Deputy Attorney General, in Declarations to DN.
In the pgdl website, on July 11, this communiqué included the crimes for which the accused were accused (falsification of aggravated document, slanderous denunciation, aggravated offense, offense to qualified physical integrity, false witness, torture and other cruel, Degrading or inhuman acts and aggravated kidnapping. ") The same publication also stated that the agents" abused the function and violation of their duties and uttered expressions that offended the body and honor of the offended. " The note ended with the measure of coercion applied (term of identity and residence).
Maria José Morgado argues that "the news is objective and neutral information about a procedural data, in this case the deduction of an accusation." "The principle of the presumption of innocence is part of the rules of production of evidence at the hearing, with the rule of absolution of any defendant at the slightest doubt." The judgment ensures the application of this principle of proof. Very different realities and for very different purposes, "concludes Deputy Attorney General DN.
And what does the law say? The Code of Criminal Procedure defines "the provision of public clarification by the judicial authority where it is necessary for the restoration of the truth and does not prejudice the investigation, either at the request of persons publicly challenged or to ensure the safety of persons and Goods or public tranquility ".
But António Jaime Martins considers that "the usual, even daily, character of these communiqués makes it possible even in cases where justice is not mediated, from that moment on." The head of the Bar also adds that these clarifications are made "only from the perspective of those who investigate, without the defendants whose identity is generally reported by the media, have the faculty to present their version of the facts. It is necessary to ask where is the principle of the presumption of innocence of the visas until judicial decision. Purely and simply, it does not exist ".
http://www.dn.pt/portugal/interior/advogados-atacam-atitude-do-ministerio-publico-na-investigacao-dacova-da-moura-8675712.html?utm_source=Push&utm_medium=WebA few interesting similarities came to mind with the situation the McCanns found themselves in with regard to Portuguese Justice and the case above, concerning the police presently under accusation of heavy handedness concerning categories of certain citizens of the Republic.
John Stalker, who believes Madeleine was abducted, was aware that at the time nothing was being divulged from the McCann side.
Snip" One thing above all worries me: Why have the McCanns and the seven other members of their group – the Tapas Nine – remained so silent?"
“I have a real suspicion that we are not being told the whole truth. There is something else there, some issue that members of the party are embarrassed about”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-490254/McCanns-hiding-big-secret-police-chief claims.html#ixzz4oUWdB02t
The answer for their restraint was of course Judicial Secrecy Laws and the penalties for them if breaking their silence to defend against the lies being told about them.
Filipa Ambrósio de Sousa's report on JUSTICE is the first I have read suggesting the presumption of innocence being compromised ... on this occasion, when the police are on the receiving end of the restriction.
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