The sailors of the ship “Mondego” was accused of “disobedience to orders”

The military who refused to board the Mondego were charged by the Navy this Thursday with “disobeying an order,” defense lawyers said, pointing out that the stipulated sanctions were not disclosed but could include jail time.

Speaking to reporters in front of the Legal Office of the Navy in Lisbon, Paulo Graça, one of the lawyers for the soldiers who refused to board the Mondego, believes that the allegations made known this Thursday stemming from the disciplinary proceedings are “generally consistent with a thesis that has recently been promoted by the navy.

“In general, what these gentlemen are charged with is disobedience to an order, that’s what we are talking about. This is not a situation of disobedience, at least I did not understand what it was, what was written there, ”he stressed. adding that this charge is common to 13 soldiers.

When asked if 13 soldiers could be sentenced to prison terms based on this charge, Paulo Graça replied: “Both [pode estar em cima da mesa] prison, as a mere exhortation can stand.

“Question in [a acusação] does not say, in relation to any of them, what sanction is provided, and this is important from a constitutional point of view, because the right to a hearing and defense presupposes that the accused knows what the sanction is, which is foreseeable if you want to apply it, ”he argued .

On March 11, the IRP (Portuguese Republic Ship) Mondego was unable to escort a Russian ship north of Porto Santo, in the Madeira archipelago, after 13 military personnel (four sergeants and nine soldiers) refused to land, citing security reasons.

The Navy reported the incident to the Military Judicial Police (PJM) in Lisbon as part of a criminal investigation, which also initiated disciplinary proceedings.