The lawyer for Diogo Lacerda Machado, detained as part of the lithium and hydrogen investigation, said there was not enough evidence to support the trial and that he hoped that in the end “the Ministry of State can be saved.”
Leaving the Central Criminal Investigation Court at the Justice Campus in Lisbon, where he had been since Wednesday afternoon and from which he left only after midnight, after familiarizing himself with dozens of volumes of the case, Manuel Magalhães and Silva said that what he found in the materials was “ criminalization of the political-administrative process” without “unequivocal evidence of any situation of corruption.”
“When we get to the end, I hope this can keep the prosecutor’s office (MP) on its feet. This may not happen. Until now, the lack of uncollected evidence and facts as presented is, in fact, a serious problem. situation with the criminalization of political processes,” the lawyer told reporters, who added during interrogation that persecution “is not an appropriate expression” to describe the deputy’s thesis, considering it “simply an incorrect qualification on the part of the deputy of what constitutes an administrative-political process.”
Regarding wiretaps, which he said are an essential part of the deputy’s evidence in this trial, he said they can be used to “make sure that there is, in fact, nothing illegal” in the process, and said regarding wiretaps. with the participation of Prime Minister António Costa, that “in 99% of cases they concern private relations between people”, so they are not relevant to the process, and that the only thing that can be relevant is what gave rise to the independent investigation that is taking place in the Supreme Court (STJ) and which he refused to comment on.
He also added that, having reviewed the process, this was the only relevant hearing he found, so he considered it the only one, noting that if there were others, “they would have left a mark.”
Continuing to talk about Lacerda Machado, he said that in the facts at stake in this process, he was a “link between investors and the government,” playing a “useful role” in a project that would be the second largest in the country after Autoeuropa. with an investment of 3.5 billion euros and could reach 27 billion euros.
“Therefore, a project of very great interest for Portugal was discussed, with the representativeness that this entails, and in which a link was established between private investors and the various public authorities, public institutions and other organizations that could intervene,” He said.
Magalhães e Silva added that he does not expect the court to make any decision on compulsory deprivation of liberty and criticized the fact that his client was detained: “If Dr. Lacerda Machado had been notified that he had become an accused and given testimony, on the same day or the next day he will do it, there was no need for a show of detention.”
Thiago Rodríguez Bastos, lawyer for Vitor Escaria, the prime minister’s chief of staff, declined to comment on the SIC news published this evening that €75,800 in cash was seized during searches of a lawmaker at his client’s office.
“I’m not going to give any explanation about this here, I’ll give it inside and then we’ll talk at the end. I’m not going to discuss on a public platform what’s going on. I can tell you that he is calm, confident, he is not worried beyond what is normal in this situation,” he told reporters as he left the courtroom.
He also said that he was not surprised by what he read in the case file, since it was nothing new compared to what was already known, and also said that he understood that taking any action that would deprive his client he’s right, unjustified. freedom, nor is there any need to justify his detention.
The lawyer added that all defendants must testify before criminal judge Nuno Diaz Costa, who is presiding over the trial at this stage.
The prosecutor’s operation on Tuesday was based on at least 42 searches and led to the arrest of five people: the chief of staff of the Prime Minister Vitor Escaria, the president of the Chamber of Sines Nuno Mascarenhas, two administrators of the Start company. Campus, Afonso Salema and Ruy Oliveira Neves, as well as lawyer Diogo Lacerda Machado, a friend of Antonio Costa.
The accused were Infrastructure Minister João Galamba and the President of the Portuguese Environmental Protection Agency, Nuno Lacasta.
According to documents accessed by Luza, Lacerda Machado allegedly used his friendship with the prime minister to influence decisions by the government and other organizations regarding Start Campus projects.
The process targets the lithium exploration concessions of Montalegre and Boticas, both in Vila Real; a project for the production of energy from hydrogen in Sines, Setubal, as well as a project for the construction of a “data center” in the industrial and logistics zone of Sines by Start Campus.
In this case, an independent investigation of the Prime Minister was carried out in the Supreme Court after the suspects named him as having interfered with the unblocking of procedures in the businesses under investigation, prompting António Costa to submit his resignation to the President of the Republic.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Sandra Hansen, a news website Author and Reporter for 24 News Reporters. I have over 7 years of experience in the journalism field, with an extensive background in politics and political science. My passion is to tell stories that are important to people around the globe and to engage readers with compelling content.