Ten of the twenty defendants in the mega human trafficking case, whose operation was carried out in 23 November 2022 by PJ, were released late yesterday afternoon after the conclusion of the first session of the instructional debate that took place at the Beja Court.
The ten preventive prisoners, eight men and two women, all foreign, are subject to identity and residence terms (TIR), daily presentations to the authorities of the place of residence and prohibition of contacts with other defendants and victims.
Two Portuguese, residents in Beja, and who were under house arrest, saw the measure changed, being only subject to IRR, having left the court on their own and very relieved after 15 months of closure, first in the prison establishment and then in housing.
The case took place at the Central Criminal Instruction Court (TCIC) Lisbon, and at the beginning of this year she became the aegis of a Criminal Investigation Judge of the General Competence Court (TCG) from Cuba, count with 51 Defendants, forty-one natural persons and ten legal entities, 14 of whom requested the opening of the instruction, and the dozen people released yesterday were part of the group that took advantage of this “weapon” that justice allows.
Four of those released are represented by lawyer Pedro Pestana, who at the courthouse door and in the company of his clients spoke exclusively to Lidador NotĂcias (LN), justifying that “this is a professional victory, all the more so because the judge did not allow the witnesses I requested to be heard. If that had happened, I would have released my fifth client.”, concluded.
The lawyer added that “for some of the defendants, the crimes of criminal association and money laundering have already fallen.. Today the instructional debate continues and if the decision is not known this Tuesday, the remaining defendants will have to be released, due to the expiration of the period of preventive detention that has lasted for 1 year and 4 months ", finished.
The session was also marked by the protest of lawyers who threatened to leave the session due to the lack of working conditions, since due to lack of suitable places, with chair and desk, in the main room of the Beja Court, Twelve of the twenty defenders of the defendants participating in the instructional debate were placed in the “dock” today so they could defend their clients. In turn, the defendants sat on the benches intended for the public in open-door trials..
The additional interrogation took place last Friday in the Noble Hall of the former Civil Government of Beja, which at the end of yesterday afternoon was busy with holding a session of the Municipal Assembly of Beja (WITH), what led to the move to the court building. This Tuesday This Tuesday's session will take place again in the former Civil Government.
Teixeira Correia
(journalist)
