They were released, Monday, the defendants, who were in pre-trial detention accused of human trafficking and criminal association in Beja.
The Public Prosecutor's Office had argued, during closing arguments, that there is no proof of the crimes, and coercive measures were changed. The case is the result of an operation that took place in Beja, in 2022.
In court, the prosecutor argued that since the crimes had not been proven, the coercive measures applied should be reviewed. Of the defendants on trial, eight were in pre-trial detention and four were under house arrest. Given this argument, the judge ordered that they be released.
In this case, they are being judged. 18 people and two companies, the others are awaiting appeals from the Court of Appeal of Évora (THREE), the remaining 28 defendants will be tried in an independent process.
The process concerns an operation, in November 2022, in which the Judiciary Police mobilized hundreds of men and which ended with 35 arrests, after 65 are looking. At issue were the crimes of criminal association and human trafficking.
One year later, the PJ carried out another action to combat human trafficking, which was called “Operation Mirror” and which is still in the investigation phase.
Teixeira Correia
(journalist)
