José Socrates, former Portuguese prime minister from 2005 to 2011, will appeal the court's decision to try him for corruption, in addition to money laundering and tax fraud, he said on Friday January 26.
“It’s a great disappointment... I don’t agree at all
,” the former head of the socialist government told AFP, specifying that he
“will appeal”
this decision made public on Thursday by the Lisbon Court of Appeal.
José Socrates contests in particular the decision to retain the offense of corruption, even though he had benefited from a dismissal of this accusation in 2021. This accusation
“had been defeated during the investigation phase”
and
“considered to be fanciful by the judge"
, so that for me
"it cannot be retained"
, explained the former political leader.
“Fight against the judicial system”
The date of the trial in this case, which includes around twenty defendants including José Socrates who will be tried for a total of 22 offenses, is not yet known.
“I do not know if my appeal will have a suspensive effect
,” indicated José Socrates who had also filed a complaint against the Portuguese state in 2017 due to
“the slowness”
of this affair and
“repeated violations of the secrecy of the instruction”
.
“On this complaint, I have no news
,” he regretted, adding that he was leading
“a fight against the judicial system”
.
The former political leader, now aged 66, was arrested in November 2014 for acts he allegedly committed in particular during the period when he was head of government.
He then spent more than nine months in pre-trial detention before being placed under house arrest and then released in 2015.
Justice suspects him of having received some 34 million euros in exchange for favors rendered to economic groups, particularly during the period when he was at the head of the government and the years that followed.