Mário Cruz / EPA / Lusa
Rui Pinto at the start of the trial of the so-called “Football Leaks” case
The trial of the Football Leaks trial was suspended for 14 days, this Wednesday, due to the confirmation of a test with positive result to the new coronavirus of a relative of one of the judges of the collective.
About 15 minutes after the start of the 27th session of the trial, at the Central Criminal Court of Lisbon, the panel of judges abruptly interrupted the session, with the panel’s president, Margarida Alves, returning shortly afterwards to explain that the hearing would have to be suspended due to information received from a positive test SARS-CoV-2 virus from the relative of one of the judges.
“We will interrupt the trial for the next 14 days. I don’t know when we will be able to resume, they will be notified later ”, declared the president of the panel of judges.
Rui Pinto, 32, is responsible for a total of 90 crimes: 68 of undue access, 14 of violation of correspondence, six of illegitimate access, targeting entities such as Sporting, Doyen, the PLMJ law firm, the Portuguese Football Federation ( FPF) and the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), and also for computer sabotage to Sporting’s SAD and for extortion, in the attempted form. This last crime concerns Doyen and was also what led to the pronunciation of the lawyer Aníbal Pinto.
O Football Leaks creator has been free since August 7, “due to his collaboration” with the Judicial Police (PJ) and his “critical sense”, but for security reasons, he is part of the witness protection program in an undisclosed location and under police protection.
