The court that judges José Sócrates asked the Bar Association this Tuesday, March 17, for clarifications regarding the appointment of an unofficial lawyer, Luís Carlos Esteves, to represent the former prime minister, determining that the trial will continue with another unofficial lawyer on a roster.
The decision by the panel of judges chaired by Susana Seca came after lawyers for other defendants in the Operation Marquês case questioned the legitimacy of the General Council of the Bar Association to appoint a defender for the former ruler.
“With this situation pending clarification, it is understood that for now it is necessary to determine that the continuation of the trial will take place with the appointment of a defense attorney for the defendant José Sócrates from 2:30 pm”, ordered the court, in an order issued to close this Tuesday morning’s session.
Sócrates chooses his ex-wife’s lawyer
However, there is another lawyer involved in this equation after it became known that José Sócrates invited Filipe Batista, lawyer for his ex-wife, Sofia Fava, to be his new defender.
The group of judges has chosen not to comment yet on the availability expressed by Sofia Fava’s representative to ensure the defense of the head of government between 2005 and 2011 at his request, if he is given 10 days to learn about the process, a period that the court has given to the other appointed defenders.
José Sócrates has until Wednesday to choose a lawyer, after the last three appointed by him, and not by the State, renounced his defense, in disagreement with the group of judges. It is worth remembering that Sócrates has already chosen to be represented by João Araújo, who died during the process, Pedro Delille, José Preto and Sara Leitão Moreira.
The ex-governor’s last unofficial lawyer, Marco António Amaro, had been appointed by lot by the Lisbon Regional Council of the Bar Association and the previous ones were on call at the Central Criminal Court of Lisbon when they were called to the process.
The trial resumed this Tuesday after three weeks of interruption and it is expected that, during around 20 sessions, recorded statements will be heard at other stages of the process, so that future lawyers for the former prime minister will have time to prepare the defense without the work being suspended.
The vicissitudes arising from the appointment of Luís Carlos Esteves ended up not allowing this to happen in the morning.
José Sócrates, 68 years old, is charged (accused after instruction) with 22 crimes, including three of corruption, for allegedly receiving money to benefit the Lena group, the Espírito Santo Group (GES) and the Algarve resort of Vale do Lobo.
In total, the case has 21 defendants, who have, in general, denied committing the 117 economic-financial crimes that are attributed to them globally.
The crimes would have been committed between 2005 and 2014 and, in the first half of this year, the oldest corruption crimes, related to Vale do Lobo, could expire, as the court estimated in November.
The trial began on July 3, 2025.
Leave a Reply