André Ventura admitted to filing a complaint against the President of the Republic for the crime of “treason against the country”.
It is the latest chapter in a controversy that began after the President of the Republic suggested, at a dinner with foreign journalists, that Portugal assume responsibility for crimes committed during the colonial era, proposing the payment of reparations for past mistakes.
Last week, the President of the Republic argued that Portugal must lead the process of assuming and repairing the consequences of the period of colonialism and suggested as an example debt forgiveness, cooperation and financing, which have already been established.
The president of Chega considered this Sunday that a possible criminal action against the President of the Republic “deserves to be considered” in light of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa’s statements.
What constitutes the crime of treason against the country?
The crime of treason against the country applies to a holder of political office who “with a flagrant deviation or abuse of his duties or with a serious violation of inherent duties, even if by non-violent means or the threat of violence, attempts to separate his mother from homeland, or hand over to a foreign country”.
It is also a crime to “submit to foreign sovereignty, all or part of Portuguese territory, offend or endanger the country’s independence”.
The punishment for this crime is a prison sentence of between ten and fifteen years.
Is Chega really going to move forward with a complaint?
This Sunday, André Ventura was more thoughtful, after having advanced his initial intention, and says that there will be an analysis of the viability of the accusation.
The party will only move forward if there is “legal consistency”.
André Ventura argued that “this is an action that deserves to be considered and deserves to be done with care, weight and measure, given the involvement of both the President of the Republic and the constitutional impact it has.
Can this accusation be made against the President of the Republic?
Yes, first because the crime applies specifically to a “political office holder” as the law says.
And, as Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa says, “that’s what democracy is”.
“In democracy, in electoral time, outside of electoral time, parties can take initiatives. It is, of course, democracy”, the President of the Republic limited himself to telling journalists this Sunday, de-dramatizing the issue.
Is the accusation justified?
According to Paulo Zaragoça da Matta, he considers it “completely impossible” for a criminal action against the President of the Republic to be successful on the grounds of treason against the country.
The specialist in Criminal Law explains, to Renaissancewho does not find it credible that any prosecutor would follow through on an action that Chega has announced that it is considering.
“The crime of treason against the country has not been fulfilled. The President of the Republic did not offer part of the national territory or independentize part of the territory, he did not try to hand over sovereignty to another State”, he analyzes.
“The archive is certain and immediate”, he concludes.
