The case also has the central role of judge Carlos Alexandre who, in recent years, has become a media personality and is often associated with former Brazilian judge Sergio Moro, now a senator.
In 2022, after 11 years of processing the case, judge Carlos Alexandre, from the Central Criminal Instruction Court of Lisbon, ordered the payment of a deposit of 6 million euros, the highest amount ever applied in Portugal. He also demanded that Sobrinho present himself every six months to the Portuguese authorities, prohibited him from leaving the Schengen Area and ordered the surrender of all his passports.
The court’s argument is that this is an action to prevent his escape. The Angolan’s defense, however, states that he never missed a summons from the MP or any other body.
In the documents delivered to the European Court and obtained exclusively by the UOL, Sobrinho’s defense accuses the Portuguese of “racism”. The report tried to contact the Portuguese court, but received no response. The Superior Council of the Judiciary of Portugal did not respond to the request for comment either.
Sobrinho would have been the only one to suffer coercive measures, even though the other defendants in the same case were accused of more serious crimes. According to Sobrinho’s defense, all the rest are white. The lawyers also remember that his father was the nationalist leader of Angola, Carlos de Oliveira Madaleno.
The defense also questions Portugal’s decision to confiscate the suspect’s Angolan passport, even alleging “piracy”. For them, the passport is a document from the State that issues it. Therefore, the confiscation of a passport from a foreign country would not be foreseen in Portuguese legislation.
Tags: Denouncement racism colonialism stirs judicial controversy Portugal
