The judgment in the Football Leaks case will be read on April 28. The date was known this Monday, the day on which Rui Pinto’s defense presented to the court the reasons it considers should not lead to his conviction.
As he left the Justice Campus, in statements to journalists, the hacker’s lawyer, Francisco Teixeira da Mota, acknowledged that “some crimes were actually committed. Not that huge amount, but there was. Taking this into account, it is more sensible to say that they were committed and recognize that the legal system has to sanction”.
“I wasn’t going to fight for acquittal, it wouldn’t make sense. A suspended sentence will suffice.”noting that Rui Pinto is on trial for the first time.
Rui Pinto, 34 years old, is responsible for a total of 90 crimes: 68 of improper access, 14 of violation of correspondence, six of illegitimate access, targeting entities such as Sporting, Doyen, the law firm PLMJ, the Portuguese Federation of Football (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 what also led to the pronunciation of lawyer Aníbal Pinto.
The creator of Football Leaks has been free since August 7, 2020, “due to his collaboration” with the Judiciary Police (PJ) and his “critical sense”, but is, for security reasons, included in the program of witness protection at an undisclosed location and under police protection.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) asked for the sentence of imprisonment of Rui Pinto, creator of the electronic platform ‘Football Leaks’, for 89 of the 90 crimes he is accused of in the process.
In the final allegations of the process, which began on September 4, 2020, Marta Viegas, prosecutor of the MP, considered that the only unproven crime was computer sabotage to Sporting’s SAD.
Marta Viegas also considered it proven that the other defendant in the case, lawyer Aníbal Pinto, should be convicted of the crime of attempted extortion, for which he is accused.
