Head of Navy fined €816 for failure to notify witnesses in NRP Mondego case
Lisbon's Central Criminal Court has condemned Admiral Nobre de Sousa to a fine of €816 for compromising the trial of three military personnel accused of violations of state secrecy.
Admiral Nobre de Sousa fined for obstructing NRP Mondego trial
Lisbon's Central Criminal Court has condemned the Chief of the Armed Forces General Staff (CEMA), Admiral Nobre de Sousa, to a fine of €816 for compromising the proceedings of the trial of three military personnel accused of violations of state secrecy. According to observador.pt, the court found that the Admiral failed to notify in good time two military personnel summoned as witnesses, preventing the second hearing of the trial from taking place, which was postponed with no date set.
In a ruling to which the Lusa news agency had access, the court stated that "the said witnesses are, once again, not notified and will not appear in this court". The Central Criminal Court characterised the Navy's conduct as something that "seriously compromises the regular functioning of this court's service" and "intensely affects the image of efficiency, readiness and rigour that the citizen expects of both institutions" — the court and the Armed Forces.
The same ruling adds that the situation "constitutes an attempt to compromise the duty of compliance with judicial orders and the authority of the courts", further classifying it as "a reprehensible and unjustified omission of the duty to cooperate with the court and an equally intolerable obstruction of the administration of justice".
Navy admits "internal failure"
In a response sent to Lusa, the Navy acknowledged the existence of a problem. "From the preliminary internal inquiry carried out, an internal failure in the procedure for notifying the military personnel is confirmed", the service indicated. The institution added that this failure "is entirely assumed by the Chief of the Armed Forces General Staff, as Commander of the Navy, but does not constitute any disrespect towards the Court".
Defence requests detention of witnesses
The defence lawyers for the three military personnel, Paulo Graça and António Garcia Pereira, announced to Lusa that they will request that the fine be paid by the Head of the Navy himself rather than by the institution. Furthermore, they intend to request "the detention of the two witnesses to be conducted under detention to the judge on the new date to be designated".
This is already the second postponement of the second hearing of the trial. The hearing was initially scheduled for 6 May, but was postponed because one of the witnesses was on a mission. At that time, Lisbon's Court pointed to a lack of cooperation on the part of the Navy.
The NRP Mondego case
On 11 March 2023, the NRP Mondego failed a mission to monitor a Russian ship north of Porto Santo island, in Madeira, after four sergeants and nine ratings refused to board, citing safety reasons.
The incident gave rise to two legal proceedings: one involving three military personnel for violations of state secrecy — whose trial is already underway — and another involving the 13 military personnel for insubordination, still in the investigation phase. Disciplinary proceedings were equally instituted, recently reopened by the Navy after the Supreme Administrative Court ruled the previously applied sanctions unlawful.
Source: Google News PT — Crime (pt)