The Court of Appeal in Lisbon has ruled that the continuing secrecy surrounding the charges and the evidence against former prime minister José Sócrates (pictured) is not justifiable and that his lawyers now may have access to the records and conclusions resulting from the long-running Operation Marquês.
The decision was taken by judges Rui Rangel and Francisco Caramel, "The court found that, at present, the secrecy of justice is no longer justifiable and the defence must have access to all records of the investigation."
The court had assessed the duration of the inquiry and the particular complexity of the case and decided that enough was enough - his lawyers can now read the evidence and start to come up with their client's defence.
José Socrates was arrested on November 21st 2014 at Lisbon airport and later was indicted for the crimes of qualified tax fraud, money laundering and accepting bribes for tort and was remanded in custody in Évora prison.
The prisoner was released on house arrest on September 5th 2015 and walked straight into another controversy as his ex-wife's property in Rua Abade, Lisbon in which he had elected to be held had been significantly upgraded from a warehouse by a company owned by his friend and co-defendant Carlos Silva Santos.
The property upgrade had never been registered so the luxury residence with pool has been subject to low rates bills as if it was still basic warehousing.
Sócrates’ lawyers have made no comments to the latest allegations that their client again may have been playing fast and loose with the rules but now can while away the hours reading and analysing the volumes of evidence against the former PM.
