This Thursday, the President of the Republic said that in the case of Portuguese-Brazilian twins with spinal muscular atrophy, being treated at the Santa Maria Hospital, justice is at work and all means must be used to investigate.
Asked if he was surprised by the latest developments in the case being investigated by the prosecutor’s office, Marcelo Rebelo de Souza replied: “I don’t need to be surprised or not, this justice works. From the moment I said that justice must be served, I respect that justice will be done.”
The head of state spoke at the end of a cultural initiative in Belem, Lisbon, in response to questions from the media that the former Secretary of State for Health, António Lacerda Sales, was accused in this case.
“Since an investigation was opened against unknown people in November, I thought that this initiative made sense – but this was a decision of the prosecutor’s office, but it made sense – and it made sense to use all available means to investigate what happened,” the head of state said.
“I cannot say more than this, because since this process is under judicial secrecy and is developing every day, the President of the Republic cannot comment on a judicial matter,” he added.
Former state health secretary Antonio Lacerda Sales was named as a defendant on Monday in the investigation into Portuguese-Brazilian twins with spinal muscular atrophy who were treated with the drug Zolgensma at Santa Maria Hospital.
The former ruler’s home in Leiria was the subject of judicial searches on Monday, according to a source connected with the trial.
As part of the same process, the judicial police carried out searches this Thursday at the Ministry of Health, the Santa Maria Hospital and social security institutions.
According to a statement from the State Ministry published on the website of the Lisbon Regional Department of Investigation and Criminal Affairs (DIAP), the matters in question most likely constitute “a crime of malfeasance that clearly competes with abuse of power.” the crime of abuse of power under the Criminal Code and qualified fraud.”
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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