Admiral Jorge Nobre de Sousa fined for obstruction of justice in NRP Mondego case
The judge presiding over the trial of three Portuguese Navy personnel accused the Chief of Staff of the Navy of compromising the court's functioning and imposed a fine of 816 euros on him.
CEMA accused of blocking NRP Mondego trial
Correio da Manhã reports that the presiding judge of the panel responsible for the trial of three Portuguese Navy personnel fined the Chief of Staff of the Navy (CEMA), Admiral Jorge Nobre de Sousa, 816 euros for obstruction of justice in the proceedings concerning the ship NRP Mondego.
At issue is the Navy's refusal to notify two witnesses — the former commander of NRP Mondego, Vasco Pires, and officer Filipa Pinto — to give statements in court. The two are called to testify in a trial in which three of the 13 personnel who refused to board the ship in March 2023 face accusations of violating state secrecy.
Judicial ruling considers Navy's behaviour "reprehensible"
In the ruling to which the NOW portal had access, magistrate Tânia Loureiro was direct in her assessment: "The procedural conduct adopted by the Portuguese Navy seriously compromises the proper functioning of this court's service."
The judge added that the omission of the notifications "constitutes an attempt to undermine compliance with judicial orders and the authority of the courts, regardless of who their recipients may be." She further concluded that there had been a "reprehensible and unjustified failure to cooperate with the court and an intolerable obstruction of justice's action."
Based on this reasoning, Admiral Jorge Nobre de Sousa was ordered to pay a fine of 816 euros of a personal nature.
Defence warns: may request detention of witnesses
Paulo Graça, defence counsel for the accused personnel, stated that the defence will "be attentive to how the fine will be paid, since it is of a personal nature." The lawyer added that, should the "obstruction" of the hearing of the two witnesses persist, "the defence will request their detention so that they are brought before the court."
Graça represents the personnel together with lawyer António Garcia Pereira.
Prosecution: personnel disclosed classified data about the ship
According to the Public Prosecutor's Office's charge, the three personnel made public confidential information about the operational status of NRP Mondego, with full knowledge of the classified nature of the data. The Public Prosecutor's Office maintains that the accused "knew that the documents they prepared contained restricted, confidential and classified information about the breach, location, mission and operational limitations of NRP Mondego which, by its nature and content, could not be disclosed."
The conduct of the three personnel is classified by the prosecution as "reckless, negligent and omissive."
The proceedings originate from the collective refusal of 13 personnel to board the ship in March 2023, citing deficiencies in the conditions of NRP Mondego. Only three from this group are being tried for the disclosure of classified information.
Source: Correio da Manhã