Half a hundred personalities from Portuguese society accuse the Public Prosecutor’s Office of having unchecked power, both externally and internally, due to the Attorney General’s assumed lack of responsibility for investigations.
It is unprecedented for a group of personalities, very influential in the areas in which they work, to come together in Portuguese society to denigrate the Public Ministry (MP), accusing themselves of acting without control, outside of any scrutiny or responsibility, of interfering in political power and, it is highlighted, being responsible for the “fall of two parliamentary majorities resulting from recent elections, despite the fact that, in both cases, in their first intervention, the Courts did not provide support and even contradicted the narrative of the accuser”.
There are 50 personalities who indignantly express disgust at the way the MP has acted. Personalities from all political backgrounds, notably Augusto Santos Silva, Daniel Proença de Carvalho, David Justino, Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues, Maria de Lurdes Rodrigues, Miguel Sousa Tavares, Mónica Quintela, José Pacheco Pereira, Paulo Mota Pinto, Rui Rio and Vital Moreira. All of these individuals subscribe to a manifesto that urges “the President of the Republic, the Assembly of the Republic and the Government, as well as all national political parties, to take the necessary initiatives to implement reform in the Justice sector”.
In the group’s opinion, “the violation of the constitutional rules of criminal investigation is really a regime problem”.
And concrete situations are pointed out, in a brutal attack on the MP. The document reads: “The montages of the now usual media spectacle, in the interventions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office against political agents, along with the surgical placement of news about ongoing investigations, have intentionally confused the tree with the forest, shaping public opinion to the idea that all public office holders are equal and that everyone is corrupt until proven otherwise.” And it is highlighted: “This perverse way of acting, with more political than judicial contours, has produced obvious wear and tear on the regime and, consequently, reinforces popular discontent and opens the doors to populism and demagoguery, all the more so as many processes go on forever without conclusion or end without indictment or judicial conviction.”
The fall of António Costa’s government, in the opinion of the manifesto’s subscribers, is the sole responsibility of the MP. They say: “Prolonged passivity in the face of this iniquitous reality allowed us to reach the painful limit of seeing the action of the Public Ministry generate the fall of two parliamentary majorities resulting from recent elections, despite, in both cases, in their first intervention, the Courts did not uphold the case and even contradicted the accuser’s narrative. To make the situation worse, the country continued to witness the inconceivable, when, with a long five months having passed between the Prime Minister resigning, following the PGR statement, and his cessation of duties, the Public Prosecutor’s Office did not even deign to inform him about the object of the investigation nor did he summon him for any procedural action.”
Having made all accusations, the signatories urge the President of the Republic, the Assembly of the Republic and the Government, as well as all national political parties to take the necessary initiatives to implement a reform in the Justice sector, which, fully respecting the independence of the courts, the autonomy of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the guarantees of judicial defense, is unequivocally directed towards resolving the bottlenecks and dysfunctions that have long undermined its effectiveness and public legitimacy.”
This manifesto is an unprecedented case in Portugal. Never before had an Attorney General of the Republic been the target of such a scathing attack, and we now have to wait to know how the President of the Republic and the Government, responsible for nominating and appointing the person most responsible for the Public Ministry (MP), will react.” .
