A prosecutor from the Public Ministry of the Central Criminal Court of the Beja Court, was suspended from office last Thursday and will be tried for a crime of persecution and another of defamation, committed against a colleague from the same court.
As the Lidador News (LN) revealed exclusively on the day 19 April last year, the victim reported the case to the Évora Regional Attorney General's Office (PGRE), who forwarded the case to the Superior Council of the Public Ministry (CSMP), who opened an investigation.
One year later, the defendant knew the pronunciation, and according to a clarification requested from the Attorney General's Office (PGR), “the defendant is charged with committing an aggravated crime of persecution and a crime of defamation with publicity and slander”, adding to the PGR that “the magistrate is suspended from his duties. The disciplinary process is ongoing”, justified.
The PGR further clarified that “the investigation resulted in a final indictment and, having requested the opening of the instruction, the pronouncement was issued”, concluded the Prosecutor's Office. The prosecutor thus faces two cases. The crime, whose judgment jurisdiction lies with the Court of Appeal of Évora (THREE) and disciplinary, within the competence of the CSMP, which can range from filing to dismissal.
The case was made public after a complaint sent to LN which stated that “the Prosecutor of the Republic of Beja harassed a colleague, also a prosecutor in the same court. In view of her refusal, there was a persecution that caused a climate of fear and insecurity, while she is teleworking”, was referred to not document.
At the time, it was possible to determine that the case began in the first quarter of 2022, inside the court building and then by messages via cell phone, the complaint was formalized at the end of January last year. The prosecutor who was the target of her colleague's advances, spent several months shipping at home, only going to court when he was on shift duty.
According to the “Vision”, the prosecutor and his colleague began to have daily contact, moving on to exchanging messages, “in which, according to the judge”, manifestations of affection were expressed, of courtship and confidences about their personal lives”. The fact that they were both married could have led to the case ending there., but in the magazine news, the prosecutor continued to send messages to his colleague, some of a threatening nature, where he imagined how “he could hurt her and make her suffer”. Continuous pressure from the individual led to the victim filing a criminal complaint against his colleague.
Before publishing the news, the prosecutor was asked to comment on the case, justifying to LN, that “I am unaware of the existence of any process. I wasn't heard at all, because I did nothing wrong. A complaint can only be aimed at harming me.”, making it clear that everything could be linked to his candidacy for the Superior Council of the Public Ministry, whose elections were held a month later. But the candidate could not resist the controversy and ended up withdrawing his candidacy.
In addition to the PGR, which revealed that the magistrate is suspended and accused of two crimes, the LN questioned the Coordinating Prosecutor of the Public Ministry of Beja, from those who did not receive any clarification.
Teixeira Correia
(journalist)
