José Sócrates, the former Prime Minister of Portugal, has accused the State of using a "stratagem" to force him back to court for the Operation Marquês trial. Speaking to journalists upon his arrival at the Campus of Justice, Sócrates highlighted a "writing lapse" that he claims led to the case being reopened. He criticized the prosecutors, accusing them of making a mistake and manipulating the legal process.
"What they did was a stratagem, a maneuver to force me to come back to court," Sócrates stated. "Four years later, the State forces me to return to court to answer the exact same accusations from four years ago."
Before entering the Lisbon Central Criminal Court, where the trial began this Thursday, Sócrates reiterated his belief that the "writing lapse" was a deliberate act to bring him back to trial. "This writing lapse wasn't discovered by anyone for four years. During those four years, the Public Ministry never noticed there was a writing lapse," he argued.
Sócrates also criticized the recent statements by the Attorney General, who mentioned that Sócrates had the right to prove his innocence. "I have fought for years to avoid a trial. I have the right to that," he said.
The former PM further accused the judicial system of "lawfare", claiming the process was designed to remove him from public life. "The judicial system doesn't allow me and doesn't want me to appeal the central issue of this process, which is the writing lapse," he added.
Meanwhile, the lawyer for Ricardo Salgado, another defendant in the case, argued that his client, suffering from Alzheimer's, cannot receive a fair trial. "This trial cannot be fair when the defendant doesn't even know he's being tried," the lawyer stated.
The Operation Marquês trial involves 21 defendants and over 650 witnesses, with 117 crimes under scrutiny, including corruption, money laundering, and tax fraud. The trial is expected to span 53 sessions until the end of the year.
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