A lawyer for former São Tomé parliament speaker Delfim Neves, who was arrested on Friday by the military after the attack on the barracks, said he asked on Saturday to take his client to the hospital, but there was no response for 48 hours. after.
Delfim Neves, who expired earlier this month as President of the National Assembly of Sao Tome and Principe following legislative elections on 25 September, was arrested early Friday morning at his home after he was allegedly identified as the mastermind of the attack on the barracks of armed forces that took place early Friday morning and resulted in the deaths of three of the four robbers and another alleged mastermind, Arlesio Costa.
According to Brigadier General Olinto Paquete, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, the criminal court has already started hearing those arrested after the attack – 12 military personnel and four civilians.
In a conversation with Lusa on Monday afternoon, lawyer Hamilton Vaz indicated that authorities had not yet heard from Delphi Neves.
“We were told to wait,” said a lawyer who criticized the “deplorable conditions” in which Delfim Neves is being held at the Judicial Police Detention Center, where he was transferred late Friday afternoon after spending a day in the military barracks.
“All these days, starting from the 25th, Delfim Neves sleeps in an armchair. No mattress, no rug, nothing,” Hamilton Vaz described.
Delfim Neves, who underwent back surgery a few months ago and is suffering from high blood pressure, received medical attention because his “legs are swollen and his blood glucose and blood pressure have changed a lot,” he said, pointing out that there was medical attention. advise that “recommends that he can not keep” in these conditions.
On Saturday, a legal team requested that Delfim Neves “be assisted in a hospital facility where the medical team could monitor” the clinical situation.
“This request was sent to the prosecutors, who indicated that it would be sent to the judge” who is conducting the interrogations, but there was no answer to the request until Monday afternoon, Hamilton Vaz said.
The attack has been classified by Sao Tome authorities as an “attempted coup” and the army has already promised to investigate the conditions under which the detainees died. Portugal is cooperating with the Sao Tomean justice system by sending a team of members of the Judicial Police and the Institute of Forensic Medicine.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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