The trial of the two defendants in the process of the fall of a tree on Monte, during the festival of the patron saint of Madeira, which caused the death of 13 people and injured dozens, is scheduled to start today in Funchal.
In this Wednesday’s edition of the Diário , April 12th, it is advanced that, as he is absent from the country, the person responsible for the municipal gardens, Francisco Andrade, will not attend this first hearing. Idalina Perestrelo’s lawyer also requested that the defendant not be present, however the request was eventually rejected by the judge, as it did not meet the legal requirements.
The case comes to trial after the judge who will chair the panel, Joana Dias, decided to separate the criminal proceedings from the civil compensation case to avoid the problem of statute of limitations.
On August 15, 2017, during the religious ceremonies in honor of the Assumption of Our Lady, a festival also known as the Day of Nossa Senhora do Monte, the Patroness of Madeira, in one of the most popular festivals (popular festival) of the archipelago, a a large tree, an oak about 150 years old, fell on the crowd that awaited the passage of the procession.
The oak measured 29.8 meters in height and had an estimated total weight of 10.4 tons, said the text of the indictment.
This fall resulted in 13 deaths (two of which were foreign citizens, of French and Hungarian nationalities) and around fifty people were injured.
This situation gave rise to a lawsuit in which the then vice-president of Funchal, Idalina Perestrelo, responsible for the areas of the Urban Environment, Green and Public Spaces, and the head of the Division of Gardens and Green Spaces, Francisco Andrade.
The instruction phase of this process began on October 4, 2019 behind closed doors, having been, however, suspended due to the covid-19 pandemic.
In the investigation phase, the then mayor of Funchal, Paulo Cafôfo, elected by the Confiança coalition (PS, (PND, MPT, PTP and PAN), was constituted an arguido, but the Public Ministry ended up not accusing him, opting for the filing, because the mayor had delegated the powers of these spaces to other members of the team.
The decision was contested by some of the assistants in this process.