Latest news and stories about court case in government in Lisboa, Portugal for expats and residents.
The trial concerning the death of Odaír Moniz reaches its final phase at the Sintra Court, with closing arguments set to commence following the testimony of a final PJ inspector.
Judge Susana Seca has ruled that lawyer Marco António Amarote must continue representing José Sócrates until a successor is appointed, preventing further delays in the Operation Marquês corruption trial.
In the court's view, the document further states, the police officer, who was given a three-year and six-month suspended sentence for homicide, merely intended to 'carry out a legitimate arrest'.
The verdict was announced this Monday at the Sintra court. The cook was fatally shot during a PSP operation in Cova da Moura. The court proved that Odair Moniz did not have a knife nor did he reach for his waistband to draw a bladed weapon. However, it noted several mitigating factors regarding officer Bruno Pinto.
The trial of the PSP officer who killed Odair Moniz in Cova da Moura, Amadora, in October 2024, concludes today, with the reading of the verdict scheduled for 15:30 at the Sintra Court.
All six protesters arrested near parliament on Wednesday, following the CGTP demonstration on the day of the general strike, were released with an identity and residence requirement.
The Court of Appeal has annulled the lower court's decision to acquit former PAN deputy Cristina Rodrigues, who was accused of an 'IT blackout' of party emails, and has ordered a retrial.
In the ruling, the panel of judges upheld the appeals filed by the Public Prosecutor's Office and the PAN party, annulling the court decision that, in July 2025, acquitted the current Chega party deputy.
The Lisbon Local Criminal Court had previously ruled that the two charges of property damage and illegitimate access to emails, for which Cristina Rodrigues was accused by the Public Prosecutor's Office, were not proven.
The judge followed the position advocated last week by the Public Prosecutor's Office, noting the former banker's inability to comprehend the sentence due to Alzheimer's disease.
The Public Prosecutor's Office requested the conviction of PSP officer Bruno Pinto for simple homicide, the crime for which he is accused, as well as his suspension from duty.
The Judiciary Police (PJ) chief inspector who led the investigation into the death of Odair Moniz testified on Monday, 18 May, that surveillance footage does not show a knife and that she was not informed of any weapon upon her arrival at the scene. During the trial at the Sintra Court, Inspector Cláudia Soares stated her conviction that no bladed weapon was involved, noting that no knife was visible when the victim fell, nor were there any biological traces on the knife later found near the victim's bags. While she confirmed that Moniz was violent and resisted arrest, she highlighted that police officers did not mention a knife when she arrived. The trial continues as other officers maintain they saw a knife near the body.
The chief inspector revealed in court that the cook was violent and acted against officer Bruno Pinto. However, cameras show he did not have a bladed weapon, and forensic laboratory tests reveal that the bladed weapon 'did not have any biological traces'.
This Monday, the Public Prosecutor's Office and the defence teams will be able to present their final arguments in one of the most high-profile cases of recent years.
The Lisbon Administrative Court begins today the trial of a 2017 lawsuit in which former Prime Minister José Sócrates demands at least 50,000 euros in compensation from the State due to the duration of the Marquês case.
Former prime minister is once again without a lawyer for the trial
Skip to main content Skip to navigation Skip to navigation ! Whistleblower Rui Pinto at the Metropolitan court in Budapest for his trial in 2020 Whistleblower Rui Pinto at the Metropolitan court in Budapest for his trial in 2020.
Luís Carlos Esteves, the lawyer appointed by the Bar Association, filed an appeal after judge Susana Seca refused to halt the trial. He cites ECHR jurisprudence and guarantees of an effective defence.
Nine years later, the Lisbon Administrative Court will judge the lawsuit that José Sócrates filed against the Portuguese State in 2017 regarding Operation Marquês, the former prime minister announced this Monday. In a statement, the head of government between 2005 and 2011 reveals that the trial is scheduled for May 14 and 15.
The trial of José Sócrates continued this Tuesday at the Campus da Justiça. The court-appointed lawyer, Luís Esteves, assigned to the main defendant in the Operação Marquês case, who appeared in court today, guarantees that he has already sent a letter to his client but has not yet received a response.
The smaller part of Operation Marquês is set to go to trial. The charges involve document forgery and money laundering.
The professionals had been tried and acquitted for allegedly lying in 2015.
The Lisbon Court of Appeal confirmed on Tuesday the acquittal of two social workers who had been tried for allegedly lying in a 2015 case that resulted in the removal of three children from their mother.
André Mesquita, one of the inspectors who investigated the case, guaranteed that from the analysis of the footage captured by surveillance cameras, he did not see Odair with a knife in his hand. The knife 'was not handled, at least without protected hands, for a considerable period of time,' he stated in court.
Vítor Teixeira has scheduled a meeting for Friday, March 28. Sócrates will be represented by Pedro Delille, the lawyer who resigned from the main case.
“He does not have my trust, and in fact, has my absolute distrust,” declares the main defendant in Operation Marquês, who alleges manipulation in the selection of the court-appointed lawyer.
The recordings of the interrogations conducted after his arrest in November 2014 and May 2015 were played at the Operation Marquês trial. Why? To produce evidence.
Susana Seca rejected Luís Carlos Esteves' request for 20 days to familiarise himself with the case.
Luís Carlos Esteves will be the court-appointed defence lawyer for the former prime minister
The court recognised Luís Carlos Esteves as Sócrates' court-appointed lawyer, but as he was not in the room at the start of the trial, it was the lawyer on duty, Humberto Monteiro, who ended up representing the former prime minister. A third lawyer, Filipe Batista, had held a power of attorney from Sócrates to represent him, but as he was not immediately granted ten days to consult the case file, he was not appointed.
