According to the former member of the PLMJ law firm, who was part of the team led by João Medeiros and who also saw documents published on the ‘Mercado de Benfica’ blog between late 2018 and early 2019, several folders on his computer were accessed and disclosed, but the same did not happen with a folder related to the company Fidequity, from the universe of businesswoman Isabel dos Santos, the main figure in the Luanda Leaks case.
“In the contest [de Rui Pinto] it was stated that the interest was not Benfica but Luanda Leaks, but that may not be in line. I have a folder on my computer called Fidequity, which contained an action by Isabel dos Santos against [o jornalista] Rafael Marques and was not accessed, ”said Rui Costa Pereira, before the panel of judges.
At the same time, the lawyer – who is now a member of the Vieira de Almeida office – refuted the public interest highlighted by the defendant’s defense of the acts committed, recalling the personal information contained in the lawyer João Medeiros’ mailbox, also exposed on the Internet. .
“Is anyone going to explain to me what is the public interest in publishing clinical files of João’s son?”, Asked Rui Costa Pereira, regarding health information about his son that was in the email of his former colleague at PLMJ, which confirmed this situation in the previous day’s session.
Rui Costa Pereira also directly aimed at Rui Pinto because of a publication by the creator of Football Leaks on Twitter, two days ago, before being heard in court, in which the accused criticized the lawyer for some messages also published on social networks.
“A few hours before coming here, two days ago, the defendant himself made a ‘tweet’. Since coming here yesterday [quarta-feira] it is a hotbed of insults and threats, by the hundreds or thousands ”, he revealed, at a time when Rui Pinto was reacting more visibly in the courtroom, moving his head and arms, now as a sign of assent, now in disagreement with the words scored by Rui Costa Pereira.
The lawyer reiterated the criticisms already made by João Medeiros to the Public Ministry (MP) about the use of a stolen e-mail in a footnote to a dispute in the EDP excessive rents process, highlighting the “biased reference” in this situation and promising Act accordingly.
“From a professional point of view, the result of this intrusion is still felt today. I won’t know everything the MP is doing, but I will take the appropriate measures ”, he stressed.
Asked about the personal consequences of the disclosure of documents stored on his computer, the assistant in the Football Leaks process highlighted the “sense of violation” of privacy and the “moments of absolute chaos and panic” experienced during that period.
“We went from ‘bestials to beasts’ from one day to the next. At a certain step, I felt that we came to be seen almost as lepers, in which people did not even reach us, “said the lawyer, adding:” The first words of comfort did not even come from PLMJ, they came from other colleagues. We were put aside at PLMJ ”.
Later, it was the turn of the lawyer Inês Almeida Costa, who was also an assistant in the process and who belonged to PLMJ, to make statements, in which she emphasized the demonstration of power in the dissemination of information: “There was no criterion, that was debited. It was a link with thousands of documents. There was no rationale, it was because, to show power. It looked like a movie ”, he summarized.
The inquiry with Inês Almeida Costa continues in the afternoon, followed by the inspector of the Judiciary Police, Miguel Covas Amador.
Rui Pinto, 31, will answer for a total of 90 crimes: 68 of undue access, 14 of violation of correspondence and six of illegitimate access, targeting entities such as Sporting, Doyen, PLMJ law firm, the Portuguese Federation of Football and the Attorney General’s Office, and also for computer sabotage to Sporting’s SAD and for extortion, in the attempted form.
That last crime concerns Doyen and also led to the pronunciation of the lawyer Aníbal Pinto, then representative of Rui Pinto.
The creator of Football Leaks has been free since August 7, “due to his collaboration” with the Judicial Police (PJ) and his “critical sense”, but is, for security reasons, inserted in the protection program of witnesses in an undisclosed location and under police protection.
