A new legal twist in the case of the Iraqi twins, accused of attempting to murder a young man in Ponte de Sor in 2016, has seen the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sending a 'letter rogatory' to the Iraqi authorities from the Attorney General's Office.
In January this year, the Prosecutor's Office issued an indictment against Ridha and Haider, sons of the former Iraqi ambassador in Lisbon, Saad Mohammed Ali. They are accused of the attempted murder of Rúben Cavaco, in the early hours of August 17, 2016, in Ponte de Sor, Portalegre in the Alentejo.
Rúben Cavaco suffered multiple fractures and was transferred from the local health centre to the Hospital de Santa Maria, in Lisbon and put into an induced coma. He was discharged in early September 2016. At the time of the events, the twins were 17 years old.
The State Prosecutor, Aurora Rodrigues, wrote in the indictment that she was unaware of the defendants' whereabouts, which is why she requested the Attorney General's Office to investigate with the Iraqi authorities "through their own channels" that that defendants were notified of the charge.
A letter rogatory is a legal instrument of cooperation between two countries, through which a country requires the enforcement of a judicial act in the court of another country.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs received the rogatory letter from the Attorney General's Office and forwarded it to the competent Iraqi authorities through diplomatic channels in accordance with the usual procedure for international judicial cooperation," explained the Ministry.
The ambassador's children had diplomatic immunity under the Vienna Convention. The Portuguese government twice asked Iraq to waive this immunity so that twins formally could be questioned as defendants in the case.
In both cases, the Iraqi government "raised legal issues" and eventually withdrew its ambassador from Lisbon in 2017.
Rúben Cavaco was viciously attacked by the twins and later accepted €40,000 from the ambassador to seal an out-of-court agreement. Saad Mohammed Ali also paid €12,000 to the State to cover Cavaco’s stay in hospital.
Despite this settlement, the investigation clearly has been continuing.
