Defendants are heard at the Central Criminal Investigation Court, Photo MP.
The first judicial interrogation of the three defendants detained as part of the corruption investigation in the Autonomous Region of Madeira begins today. Pedro Calado, Avelino Farinha and Custódio Correia begin to be heard this morning at the Central Criminal Instruction Court, at the Justice Campus, in Lisbon.
The instruction phase is expected to last for many hours, with an indication that the coercive measures will only be known next week.
The suspects for the crimes of active and passive corruption, economic participation in business, malfeasance, undue receipt or offer of an advantage, abuse of powers and influence peddling were identified yesterday by the criminal investigation judge Jorge Bernardes de Melo, who is leading the case.
The Madeiran defendants interrogated today in building B of the Justice Campus must collaborate with the investigating judge, providing the necessary statements and clarifications, said defenders Paulo Sá e Cunha and Raul Soares de Veiga yesterday. It is not yet known whether the continental Custódio will speak.
Remain detained
The three defendants detained as part of the case of alleged corruption in the Autonomous Region of Madeira spent another night in the Judiciary Police dungeons, in Lisbon.
Pedro Calado, Avelino Farinha and Custódio Correia will remain under a measure restricting their freedom until the first judicial interrogation is completed and coercive measures are applied, a process that could take days, weeks and even months, as there is no time limit maximum established by law for this phase. At stake are the complexity of the case, the amount of evidence to be presented, the number of witnesses to be heard, among other issues.