Latest news and stories about high profile trial in Portugal for expats and residents.
The former prime minister's legal representative is withdrawing from the case, but criticises the judge's decision and the stance taken by Susana Seca towards his colleague Pedro Delille, Sócrates' former lawyer.
Lawyer Pedro Barosa explains how the remainder of José Sócrates's trial will unfold following the resignation of lawyer José Preto.
Lawyer José Preto withdrew from Sócrates's defence because the judge did not suspend the proceedings despite his illness. Luís Rosa, lead writer at Observador, says the court's decision was lawful.
The lawyer had taken on the former prime minister's defence about a month and a half ago, after Pedro Delille abandoned Sócrates's legal representation in the case.
José Sócrates's lawyer will not attend court on Tuesday. José Preto was discharged from Hospital de Santa Maria in Lisbon on Thursday after a 12-day hospitalisation for pneumonia.
The decision to split the proceedings stems from the pre-trial instruction order in the main case issued in April 2021 by Judge Ivo Rosa, then at the Central Criminal Court of Instruction.
The court has already ordered that another court-appointed lawyer be assigned.
The trial has been on hold for nearly two months. The resumption of proceedings is scheduled for this Tuesday, but the judge has not yet decided how to proceed given José Preto's illness.
Former prime minister José Sócrates remains the central figure in a year marked by trials that have drawn intense media attention.
