Police protection for Rui Pinto maintained after annulment of CPES decision
The Ministry of Justice announced that the decision of 22 September terminating the programme has been declared null. Rui Pinto will have 10 working days to submit his views before a new deliberation takes place.
Special security programme for Football Leaks 'hacker' remains in force
The special protection programme for Rui Pinto remains in force after the Commission for Special Security Programmes (CPES) declared null the deliberation of 22 September that determined its termination, according to an announcement made on Friday by the Ministry of Justice (MJ), as reported by CNN Portugal.
Justice Minister Rita Alarcão Júdice met with the CPES on Thursday to discuss the matter. The commission concluded that the beneficiary was not properly notified of the grounds for the decision to end the programme, nor was he guaranteed the possibility of exercising his right to a response, as provided for in the Witness Protection Act.
As a result of these procedural failures, the CPES declared null not only the deliberation of 22 September 2026, but also the subsequent procedure and the notification made on 30 September 2026. The special security programme remains in effect "pending a new decision" from the commission.
By deliberation of the CPES, Rui Pinto will be notified again and will have access to the risk re-evaluation report and relevant elements from the minutes of the commission's meetings. Following this, he has a period of 10 working days to submit his views on the proposed decision's direction and grounds. Only after that submission — should the hacker choose to make one — will a new decision be taken on the maintenance or termination of the programme.
The CPES deliberation made public on 2 October stated that, following meetings held on 8 June and 9 July 2026, the termination of the programme had been determined with effect from 10 October 2026. The grounds cited were based on the "lack of commitment by the witness" and on a re-evaluation report by the PSP that concluded there was a low level of risk.
Rui Pinto's lawyers, notified on 30 September of the imminent termination, immediately contested the decision, calling on the MJ to reconsider and announcing they would lodge an administrative appeal. They argued that their client's disclosures involved figures with vast resources and that many of the resulting court proceedings are still ongoing, citing as a recent example the decision by the independent commission of the Premier League regarding Manchester City.
The lawyers also stressed that it was precisely Rui Pinto's cooperation with Portuguese justice that justified his inclusion in the programme. The hacker had enjoyed the status of protected witness for six years, since leaving pre-trial detention and accepting to cooperate with the authorities. The programme's benefits include the house where he resides under police protection, false identity documents, free transport and a subsistence allowance.
Rui Pinto was sentenced in September 2023 by the Central Criminal Court of Lisbon to four years in prison with a suspended sentence for attempted extortion, aggravated breach of correspondence and unlawful access, in connection with the Football Leaks proceedings. In November of the same year, a French court sentenced him to six months in prison, also with a suspended sentence, for unlawful access to Paris Saint-Germain emails.
Source: CNN Portugal