The PSD said on Thursday that the PJ’s searches at national headquarters lasted until 4 a.m. and targeted “highly relevant information from a democratic point of view”, such as data on militants, records of entries and exits or political strategy. documents.
In a letter from the Secretary General of the PSD to the Attorney General of the Republic, which the party made public, Hugo Soares expressed his “greatest concern” to Lucília Gago.
If it is true that no one is above the law and that the prosecution enjoys autonomy in its actions, it is no less true that in a democracy political parties move freely, without restrictions and enjoy the privilege of following their strategy and political thinking .with the reservation that they understand, with absolute autonomy, independence and always in an impeccably free manner”watchful.
In particular, Hugo Soares lists several fears that “seem to lie outside the object under investigation”.
“From the party’s implant services correspondence with militants on their joining/exit processes/database updates, bank details, to the absolutely confidential record of entries and exits at the party’s national headquarters”reveals.
The seizures, according to the letter, also include any digitized correspondence from the general secretariat services or documents such as activity plans that include “matters of political strategy”.
“Furthermore, it is not only disproportionate but also outrageous that his representative was required to remain with the searches at the party’s national headquarters until about 4 a.m. while copies were made from computer equipment, with the media amplifying outrage on social media . , who announced that the searches continued well into the night,” criticizes the Social Democratic leader.
With this letter, Hugo Soares says that he wishes to draw the attention of the Attorney General of the Republic to the sensitivity of these cases, “with an appeal to all zeal, zeal, in scrupulous observance of legality and the basic principles of the democratic rule of law”.
Judicial operation “of great disproportion”
In the letter to the PGR, the secretary general of the PSD believed that his party was the target of a judicial operation of “great disproportionality” between the acts committed and the subject of the investigation.
On Wednesday, the Judicial Police (PJ) mobilized about 100 inspectors and experts to search the home of former PSD president Rui Rio and the party’s national headquarters, alleging crimes of embezzlement and abuse of power.
In a letter addressed to Lucília Gago, Hugo Soares refers to the “total availability” of the PSD “to fully cooperate with the investigation” and the party’s commitment “to the total defense of transparency”, expressing the “conviction which will finally decide by the regularity of the whole situation”.
“Nevertheless, it is necessary to express our understanding that the diligences yesterday [quarta-feira] suffered from a major disproportion between the acts carried out under the search warrant and the object of the investigation, which, according to what was published, already had interviews of witnesses and persons involved,” he emphasizes.
In his message, the Secretary-General of the PSD refuses that a series of actions he says were carried out during the searches can be covered “under the concept of defending the rights, freedoms and guarantees of citizens, proportionately and appropriately”.
“It is disproportionate and appropriate, from our point of view and our conception of defending the rights, freedoms and guarantees of citizens, for citizens’ homes to be disorganized without clear criteria, for their privacy, for the cloning and confiscation of their electronic devices, namely telephones, in the context of an investigation such as the present one,” he clarifies.
The PSD secretary-general says it is “essential equipment for various personal, institutional and professional tasks of citizens who were told they would be deprived of these goods within a few months”.
“Apparently there is no respect for the principles of necessity, adequacy and proportionality, in terms of fundamental rights,” he added.
In this case, involving the former leader of the PSD, is at stake, according to CNN, which has been live since the searches began. suspicions of alleged misuse of public money, through funds from the Assembly of the Republic that are defined for advising parliamentary groups and that would be used to pay party officials who would not work in parliament.
Speaking to journalists, Rui Rio downplayed these suspicions as they were only meant to “produce news” and said he didn’t even understand what the PJ was looking for, confirming that he had not been labeled an arguido.
“Payments are not illegal, all parties are. (…) If anything happened in my time, it was a reform in the sense of moralizing all this as much as possible, which is not that it was wrong, but moralizing to make it right,” he said.
Asked if this news will affect his image, Rio replied: “That’s what they want, all this is to affect my image, whether it affects or not, I don’t know, I’ve been in public life for 30 years . , people already know me.” .
“I’m out of politics, I don’t plan on going back into politics, I’m tired of politics, but sometimes… I had a friend, Dr. It works well it stings’. I’m so calm Why are they coming to poke me?” he said.
Rui Rio said he had not spoken to the current leadership of the PSD, not least because he does not even have a mobile phone, which was seized during the searches.
Source: DN
