Former PTP deputy José Manuel Coelho started, this morning, to fulfill, by court decision, a sentence of 90 days of work in favor of the community, to be provided in the Society for the Protection of Domestic Animals (SPAD).
According to the defendant himself, this sentence is related to a process in which he was accused of taking photos, without authorization, of the prosecutor of the Republic Isabel Dias during an investigation. Such images were later published on the Internet. The trial took place in the middle of last year at the Local Criminal Court in Funchal (Palácio da Justiça) and Coelho was sentenced to one year in prison. Such a penalty would eventually be replaced by work in favor of the community.
It is recalled that the former deputy has already suffered several convictions in cases related to crimes of defamation or abuse of press freedom.
The provision of community service is a prison replacement penalty of up to 2 years and requires the consent of the accused to be applied. It consists of the provision of free services to the State, to other legal persons governed by public law or to private entities, whose purposes the court deems of interest to the community. The amount of work is fixed up to a maximum limit of 480 hours. Work can be performed on weekdays, on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, and each work period cannot interfere with the normal working day of those who have a job.