Sócrates rejects court-appointed lawyer and accuses prosecution of manipulating wiretap evidence in Operation Marquês trial
José Sócrates said he had no confidence in court-appointed lawyer Luís Carlos Esteves and refused to be represented by him. The former Prime Minister also accused the Public Prosecution Service of lying and manipulating telephone wiretaps.
Sócrates rejects court-appointed lawyer and denounces "scandalous pattern"
José Sócrates declared on Tuesday that he had no confidence in the court-appointed lawyer who was assigned to him in the Operation Marquês trial. "This lawyer does not represent me. I do not even speak to him," said the former Prime Minister on arrival at the Justice Campus, in statements cited by nowcanal.pt.
The defendant identified the lawyer by name — Luís Carlos Esteves — and stressed that he has an active dispute with him. "I did not choose him," he reiterated, criticising what he described as an imposition by the court.
Sócrates again criticised the judge's decision not to grant ten days to the defence to read the case file and prepare for the sessions. "The judge has completely lost the opportunity to comply with the Constitution," he said, adding that it is "absolutely inadmissible that a court should behave in this manner".
The former head of government maintained that the situation is unprecedented in Portugal. "It is the first time that a court has imposed a lawyer against the defendant's will for one reason alone: because it refuses to give the lawyers I have already appointed the time to prepare the defence," he said.
In his assessment, the set of circumstances "has reached a point where it becomes truly scandalous and, ultimately, all of this is a pattern," accusing the Public Prosecution Service of lying and manipulating telephone wiretaps.
Asked about Tuesday's session, which focused on a luxury apartment in Paris, Sócrates denied any involvement in the purchase of the property. He said he had merely accepted an offer from a friend to live there for nine months whilst renovation work was being carried out on his home.
Source: RTP