The Liberal Initiative (IL) announced the appointment of lawyer Paulo Saragoça da Matta as the party’s agent and legal representative, with him being entrusted with representing IL in the legal reactions it considers necessary, following what it classifies as “unfounded and harmful suspicions” related to accusations of sexual harassment.
In a clarification released by the party, IL states that “there has never been any insinuation, report, complaint or denunciation, of any nature” at any time in its history regarding João Cotrim Figueiredo.
It is IL’s response to the accusations made public by Joana Bichão, jurist and former IL parliamentary advisor, during the electoral campaign for the Presidency of the Republic, attributing the practice of sexual harassment to the then candidate Cotrim de Figueiredo, with the party’s alleged knowledge. In this context, IL claims to have been the target of “unfounded” suspicions and that, therefore, it decided to formalize legal representation through the agent now appointed.
IL also states that, since its founding, it has been confronted by two situations of this nature. According to the party, the first led to a formal process, with the “required legal and internal procedures”, which ended up archived. The second, he adds, did not identify facts or evidence and, despite IL’s attempts to obtain more information, there was “never” a response from the author. Even so, the party says it carried out an independent investigation, with external legal support, concluding that “there was no evidence” to support the veracity of the report.
Contacted by Diário de Notícias, Paulo Saragoça da Matta stated that, “for now”, he will not make any statements.
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