The legal interpretations diverged regarding the objective of the three prosecutors who requested the trial court of the BES case to certify the expert reports and the interrogation of Ricardo Salgado for the unofficial start of the accompanied adult process in civil jurisdiction. But the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) puts an end to the doubts: Ricardo Salgado will continue to be tried and the suspension or termination of the criminal process against the former leader of the BES is out of the question.
“The psychic anomaly that has occurred is not, in the Portuguese legal system, a basis for the termination of the criminal process. Nor is it cause for suspension. Those that exist are definitive and psychic anomaly is not among them. This was the position defended by the MP in the trial and the Court accepted it and rejected the defendant’s request, so the trial began,” an official source from the PGR clarified in writing in response to questions sent by El Observador.
MP wants Ricardo Salgado to have the status of an accompanied adult. Does this mean the case can be dismissed?
The same source explains that prosecutors Carla Dias, César Caniço and Sofia Gaspar, who represent the MP in the trial against Ricardo Salgado and 16 other defendants, expressed “doubts about the current cognitive abilities, alleged by the defense.” [do ex-banqueiro] and supported by clinical documentation and expertise in a recent criminal case” and understood that, in the terms of the Statute of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, he had the “duty to inform the competent MP for the possible unofficial initiation of an accompanied adult process.”
The Civil Code allows that, in addition to the family, the MP can also request a civil court to establish such a status that, if granted, requires the appointment of a conservator who will decide on the management of assets on behalf of the elderly person in question. . .
Official PGR source clarifies that ““This is not a criminal matter.”especially because Ricardo Salgado is represented in the criminal process by his two lawyers and the curator appointed in civil jurisdiction will have nothing to do with this issue.
The same official source also recalls that the “MP has, within the scope of its functional powers”, the defense of the rights and interests of “children, young people, the elderly, adults with reduced capacity, as well as other people.” especially vulnerable.” ”.
Since Ricardo Salgado is a “person with clinical documentation that proves that he has at least diminished capacity, the Public Ministry has the functional duty to ensure that his rights and interests are protected,” concludes an official source from the PGR.
The official PGR website has a page dedicated to questions about the situation of accompanied adults, which can be read here.
Source: Observadora
