Cape Verdean PR calls for discussion of ‘groundbreaking’ decision to detain MP

Cape Verdean President José María Neves today considered the decision of the Constitutional Court (CC), which dismissed the appeal against the detention of the then deputy Amadeu Oliveira, groundbreaking, asking to discuss it with civil society.

“As befits a democratic state of law, the decisions of the courts must be respected and accepted by all, always having, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and laws, the possibility of challenging, contesting or appealing in specific cases,” described José María Neves, reading “from beginning to end with “double caution” is a judgment.

This month, the Cape Verdean TC rejected an appeal by 15 deputies who asked to review the constitutionality of the decision of the parliamentary standing committee to authorize the detention of then-deputy and activist Amadeu Oliveira.

“The solution is tight and innovative. The TC allows for “constitutional custom against the Constitution,” which means that it can have derogatory effects of constitutional provisions,” commented the President of the Republic, who previously appealed to the speed of the court. on this process.

Because of “its innovative nature and its implications”, José María Neves expressed the hope that “civil society” will discuss the “positions” of the TC and that they “contribute to reasoned and enriching debate, thereby deepening the culture of the Constitution”. and democratic legitimacy.

In the decision of the Customs Union dated March 1, the judges explain that they decided “not to recognize as unconstitutional and unlawful the decision of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly” dated July 12, 2021, which then, at the request of the Prosecutor General of the Republic, authorized the detention of this deputy and lawyer for presentation at the first judicial interrogation during process that led to his conviction last November to seven years in prison.

“Therefore, I respect and comply with the decision of the Constitutional Court. In fact, the very subjects of the request for a consistent abstract review of the constitutionality and legality of the resolution, at least two of the three parties with parliamentary representation, MpD and PAICV, said they feel enlightened and satisfied with the decision, the dissatisfaction and outrage of UCID is publicly expressed in a political declaration in parliament,” the head of state said.

A critic of the country’s justice system and the alleged author of the escape from the archipelago of a man convicted of murder, whom he defended in court, Amadeu Oliveira was eventually arrested on July 18 in Sao Vicente after he was heard in this process. .

Two days later, the Court of Appeal of Barlavento applied the preventive detention, in which it is still in place, against Amadeu Oliveira, elected in April 2021 as a deputy on the lists of UCID, the third political force in the parliament with four deputies.

A group of 15 deputies from three parties represented in Parliament (MPD, PAICV and UCID) made a request on May 5, 2022 for a consistent abstract review of the constitutionality and legality of this resolution, but was rejected by the TC, expressing, among other arguments, doubts about possible violation of the fundamental guarantees of parliamentary immunity, since this would eventually lead to the preventive arrest of the now former deputy.

“A deputy can be detained or arrested, regardless of the criminal basis, only after the issuance of an indictment by a competent court, when the process is brought to court, and not at the very beginning of the process, as happened. For this reason, the resolution would be unconstitutional,” the deputies said, adding that the standing committee also does not have the legal authority to decide on the suspension of the mandate.

For judge-advisers of the TC, “there is no illegality in the decision”, given that “it concerns only the suspension of the deputy mandate in order to continue the process, and not the authorization of detention or suppression.” detention”.

“Coming here, it must not be forgotten that the purpose of this review of constitutionality or legality is the resolution of the permanent commission that authorized the arrest of Mr. Amadeu Fortes Oliveira, and not the resolution that suspended his mandate so that the process goes to court. “, the court warned.

Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal in Barlavento, San Vicente, on November 11, sentenced Amadeu Oliveira to seven years in prison for assisting as a lawyer in the escape of a client convicted of murder.

The MP’s mandate had already been suspended by the National Assembly on 28 July 2022 to face trial in this process, and in the meantime he was replaced in Parliament by the President of the Independent and Democratic Union of Cape Verde (UCID), João Santos Luis.

The trial was categorized as “special complexity”, with seven volumes and over three thousand sheets, a list of 22 witnesses, and 70 hours of recorded proceedings from the beginning of the trial on August 29 to the final debate on August 11. October 2022

Amadeu Oliveira publicly stated in Parliament a few weeks before his arrest that he had planned and carried out the escape of the convict, whose lawyer he was, in a case that drew several public criticisms.

Amadeu Oliveira has been accused in the most media-based justice trial in Cape Verde in recent years, which took place after legislative elections, with crimes of infringing on the rule of law, disrupting the functioning of a constitutional body and insulting a legal entity.

At stake are several MP charges against Supreme Court judges and the flight from the country of Arlindo Teixeira, who was originally sentenced to 11 years in prison for murder – the sentence was later changed to nine years – Arlindo Teixeira, in last June to Lisbon and then moved to France, where he has been in exile for several years.