The President of the Assembly of the Republic (AR) defended this Monday that the Public Prosecution Service (MP) owes clarification to the country over the searches of Rui Rio’s house and to the PSD, claiming that there is a crime live committed.
“Firstly, scrupulous respect for decisions and the work of the judiciary. The Public Prosecutor’s Office is of course a hierarchical judiciary and also has the duty, not only the right, but also the duty to inform citizens publicly about aspects that may cause alarm or are of sufficient public interest to provide this clarification. And that is why we are also waiting for this clarification from the Public Prosecution Service,” said Augusto Santos Silva to journalists in Guimarães.
It is clear to the president of AR that a crime has been committed, broadcast live on television.
“In the sense in which, as everyone could see, there were searches that were broadcast live on television and thus there was a clear breach of legal secrecy. And he also searches a party headquarters for nineteen hours to conduct searches in relation to a matter whose factuality seems obvious, which deserves this public clarification,” added Santos Silva, during a visit to the United Nations University – UNU-EGOV, in Guimarães, Braga district.
When asked if there was any deductible on the part of the MP, Santos Silva said he didn’t know how to respond as he was unaware of the facts.
“And that is why, I think, a public clarification by the Public Prosecution Service would be welcome. Because, clearly, in addition to the crime that was committed live, the violation of the secrecy of justice, everyone could see, also the means used and the objectives and the zeal applied were of such magnitude that the principles of necessity and the principles of proportionality occur to everyone. But let’s wait,” declared the president of the AR.
On Wednesday, the judicial police mobilized about 100 inspectors and computer and financial experts for a series of 20 house searches, including the home of former PSD president Rui Rio and the party’s national headquarters, in an investigation led by the Department of Investigation and Regional Criminal Action of Lisbon (DIAP), on suspicion of embezzlement and abuse of power.
It concerns the alleged misuse of funds for the offices of parliamentary groups with staff working for the party outside parliament.
For the Speaker of Parliament, the Constitution is very clear about the separation of powers and rights, freedoms and guarantees, emphasizing that “the political sphere must scrupulously respect the independence of the judiciary and justice must scrupulously respect the independence of democratic political action must respect”.
“What I have to say about this, putting myself in the background, is that the freedom of political action of the parties, the freedom of organization of parliamentary groups is absolutely essential to political democracy and is therefore essential to the work of Parliament and therefore I will take this issue to the leaders’ conference,” said Augusto Santos Silva.
Santos Silva will bring PSD studies to the leadership conference on Wednesday
Augusto Santos Silva announced that he will bring the issue of the PSD headquarters searches and their outlines to the leadership conference scheduled for Wednesday morning.
“The circumstances under which searches were carried out at the headquarters of a political party and the contours of this issue are important enough to me to raise the issue at the next leadership conference. We have a leadership conference on Wednesday morning and I will present this issue to the conference of leaders,” Santos Silva told journalists in Guimarães, Braga district.
According to the AR chairman, the activity of the parliament “depends crucially on the activity of political parties and the freedom of organization and political action of political parties”.
“Since there may also be doubts about what the law says in relation to the organization and functioning of parliamentary groups, it is useful that the Conference of Leaders can express its views on this, as a consultative body for the President of the Assembly of the Republic, what it is,” Santos Silva said during a visit to the United Nations University in Guimarães.
Santos Silva recalled the principle of presumption of innocence until final judgment.
“And if, and I am now talking about Dr. Rui Rio, we live a public life with integrity, this presumption of innocence should be even more firmly confirmed last week,” the speaker of parliament repeated.
Source: DN
