“The promoters of the Manifesto of the 50 call on the new PGR to make its mandate a successful opportunity to also eliminate other practices that have distorted the mission of the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Practices such as the illegal or abusive use of the most intrusive means of investigation such as home searches and telephone tapping, or the indefinite dragging out of investigations”, said the movement, which defends justice reform.
In a statement reacting to the inauguration of Amadeu Guerra as the new PGR, whose ceremony took place today at the Palácio de Belém, in Lisbon, the subscribers of this manifesto — which include, for example, the former president of the PSD Rui Rio or the former -president of the Assembly of the Republic Augusto Santos Silva — also left a note on the “red lines” defined by the magistrate in relation to the MP’s status.
“This is an exclusive competence of the Legislative Assembly. And remember that the PGR must be entirely faithful to the provisions of the Constitution and the Law on the autonomy of the Public Ministry and its nature as a hierarchical magistracy, having the obligation to provide guarantees to combat any acts or risks of disrespect for these principles by elements or internal structures of that judiciary”, they pointed out. Amadeu Guerra had declared today, after being sworn in by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, that there were “red lines” that he did not accept, “namely, the change in the statute of the Public Ministry in violation of the Constitution and its autonomy and independence” and even refused legislative changes in response to media court cases.
The subscribers of the Manifesto of the 50 also expressed the expectation that the new PGR “fulfills the commitments” made during its inauguration regarding the improvement of the MP’s performance, including the intention to revisit the issue of judicial secrecy, whose violations have been a of the most frequent criticisms of this movement of personalities.
“They look forward to the commitment made by him to ‘visit the issues of judicial secrecy’, namely the need to make ‘rights, freedoms and guarantees’ compatible with the right to information”, can be read in the note sent to the newsrooms.
Amadeu Guerra, 69 years old, took office this Saturday as PGR for a six-year term, succeeding Lucília Gago in the position.
Born in Tábua (Coimbra) and graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon, he served in various roles as a magistrate of the MP, but became best known when, between 2013 and 2019, he became director of the Central Department of Investigation and Criminal Action ( DCIAP), the department that investigates major corruption and the most serious and complex economic-financial crime.
Source: www.jornaldenegocios.pt
