The start of the trial of anti-racist activist Mamadou Ba was delayed this Wednesday due to a strike by court officials.
A source at the local criminal court told Lusa that almost all of the trials scheduled for this Wednesday have been delayed due to this shutdown caused by the Union of Judicial Officers, which began this Wednesday and will last until May 5th.
In the morning, for the same reason, the hearing of the retrial in the case of Aquiles, connected with the illegal circulation of cocaine, in which two former inspectors of the judicial police are accused, was postponed.
This Wednesday, anti-racist activist Mamadou Ba was due to stand trial for defamation, publicity and defamation in a lawsuit filed by neo-Nazi militant Mario Machado, in which Ba has former minister Francisca Van Dunem as a witness.
On October 27 last year, it was reported that anti-racism activist Mamadou Ba would face trial for defamation of former Hammerskins Portugal leader Mario Machado following a ruling by criminal judge Carlos Alexandre, who issued the ruling. the procedure for sentencing in a single court “within the exact time” of the Prosecutor’s Office (MP) of the indictment.
The indictment (submitted to the court) states that Mamadou Ba “did not even come to prove the truth of the facts”, noting that if the accused is aware of the crimes committed by Mario Machado, he should convict them “in the proper place”. , that is, the police or the prosecutor’s office.
“What cannot be replaced by the courts and the right to freedom of expression can be invoked,” the criminal judge concluded regarding the fact that in 2020 the accused called Mario Machado the “killer” of Cape Verde on social networks Alcindo Monteiro, who was killed in Lisbon in June 1995 by members of the skinhead group.
Mario Machado was associated with this group but was not found guilty of murder in the Alcindo Monteiro death trial, so he decided to file criminal charges against Mamadou Ba for defamation, publicity and defamation.
Judge Carlos Alexandre also justified his decision by the fact that Mario Machado had already answered in court in this case, asking the question: “Can a person be anathema all his life, imputing him to participate in any capacity in a murder, the act of which has already been presented in court and is the subject of a lengthy trial and with the STU ruling, where is he acquitted of this particular crime but convicted of another? And call it freedom of speech?”
During a mock debate in October, Isabel Duarte, lawyer for Mamadou Ba, said that in this case “there is no honor that could be offended”, adding that she did not understand the facts imputed to the anti-racist activist by private prosecution ( which was accompanied by the Ministry of Public Information).
Among the witnesses listed by the defense, in addition to Francisca Van Dunem, are diplomat and socialist Ana Gómez, former BE leader Francisco Luza, sociologist Boaventura Sousa Santos, deputy and leader of Livre Rui Tavares, former deputy Miguel Vale de Almeida, and journalists Diana Andringa, Daniel Oliveira, Paulo Peña and others.
Former Minister Francis Van Dunem, a retired judge, will give written evidence along with Mamadou Ba’s defense in charge of Isabel Duarte, and will also identify witnesses who will testify about the facts, the identity of the defendant and the text that prompted the complaint.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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