This Thursday, the Secretary General of the PS expressed concern about the long detention of the accused for interrogation and the consequences of the fall of two governments (the Republic and Madeira), while the judges did not confirm suspicions of corruption.
Pedro Nuno Santos spoke at the end of a site visit to the Oeste railway line between Melesas and Torres Vedras, after being asked about the case in which the former mayor of Funchal, Pedro Calado, and two businessmen were 21 years old. days of detention for interrogation in Lisbon, as well as the fact that the governments of the Republic and Madeira were involved in cases in which suspicions of corruption were not confirmed by judges.
“As a citizen and a candidate for prime minister, I am obviously concerned that people are being detained for 21 days – and there is no doubt about that. But as a candidate for prime minister, I will not comment on specific court cases.” he said. answered.
According to the PS Secretary General, “it is important to understand what is going wrong so that such situations do not repeat, because it is necessary to protect the rights, freedoms and guarantees of everyone.”
“There are two basic principles that we cannot lose sight of: the presumption of innocence and the independence of the judiciary. This requires politicians to be modest in dealing with specific court cases,” he said.
Asked about the global implications of the two court cases that led to the fall of the government led by António Costa and the regional executive led by Social Democrat Miguel Albuquerque, Pedro Nuno Santos said: “On the contrary, it is not of secondary importance. that two governments have fallen.”
“We’re not ignoring it, I’m not ignoring it. We look at the situation we are experiencing with concern. But we must also respect the time of justice. And I want to discipline myself to always be consistent in defending two basic principles: the presumption of innocence and the independence of the judiciary. It is not good for someone who proposes to become prime minister to comment on specific court cases,” he repeated.
However, in this context, he recognized justice reform in the long term.
“We will all have to think about justice in all areas, not just this one. [Direito Penal e Direito de Processo Penal]. And carry out reform when it is justified,” he added.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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