Former Justice Minister Catarina Sarmento e Castro rejected the idea of outside influence in the operation to grant citizenship to Portuguese-Brazilian twins being treated in Santa Maria. The former governor is part of a parliamentary commission of inquiry, answering questions from MPs regarding the process of granting girls Portuguese citizenship. Catarina Sarmento explains that the process is “simple,” which may also justify its speed.
“According to what the services have conveyed to me, there is no influence here to speed up this process,” he said.
Sisters with a diagnosis spinal muscular atrophy, greceived Portuguese citizenship in 14 days to access treatment at the Santa Maria Hospital with one of the most expensive drugs in the world in 2019.
Catarina Sarmento e Castro noted that one of these processes “began in the system on September 2, and the other two on September 4” and ended on “September 9.”
The former Minister of Justice considered that the process of granting citizenship is a relatively “simple” operation that “can and should be done quickly.” “This is a simple procedure that has already been described, it may even be faster.”
“What the services explained to me at the time, based on the investigation of cases to that point, was that an average of 14 days was a reasonable average,” the former minister said, pointing out that IRN had found “three other cases that would have been even faster, also for babies.”
Catarina Sarmento e Castro recalls that she was not yet on duty at the time of the children’s treatment. However, he explains that as governor, he has always pursued policies that take into account the situation of the most vulnerable segments of the population. It is also emphasized that all processes were transparent and that this can be verified through the documentary evidence provided.
While still Minister of Justice, Catarina Sarmento said that the nationalization process was quick because the twins were newborns at the time, which justified the urgency of the matter. He also emphasized the fact that they had a Portuguese parent because of the speed of obtaining citizenship.
“Faced with the fragile situation of the people and having the opportunity to make life easier for all mothers and children, the services under my leadership made it possible for the issuance of the citizen card and the actual registration at that time,” he said.
When asked about the average length of the citizenship process for children in similar circumstances, the former government official admitted she didn’t know the answer.
“Children cannot be stateless. This does not mean that someone has one citizenship and wants to have another. This is a different case. This justifies the need to do this quickly,” he explained.
The hearing into the children treated with the drug Zolgensma, which costs two million euros per person, began last week with testimony from former Undersecretary of State for Health Antonio Lacerda Sales and Daniela Martins, the girls’ mother.
Author: morning Post This Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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