Socrates was left without his lawyer. Pedro Delille resigned to defend former prime minister

José Sócrates’ lawyer, Pedro Delille, resigned from his role as defender of the former prime minister in the Operation Marquis trial. The court has already ordered the appointment of an unofficial lawyer to ensure the defense of the former ruler.

The information was confirmed to journalists by a source at the Central Criminal Court of Lisbon, who stated that the resignation was received this Tuesday morning.

In the application sent to the court, to which Lusa had access, For Pedro Del speak in a “mock trial” and justifies the resignation with “deontological reasons”, after, last week, the group of judges decided to report the professional conduct of the lawyer to the Bar Association, as he assumed that the session would start later and arrived late.

“I was definitively and absolutely convinced, after last Thursday’s episode, which adds to everything else timely reported, that Continuing in this trial does unbearable violence to my conscience as a lawyer and the ethics I impose on myself, my independence, integrity and professional and personal dignity“, he maintains.

“I repudiate and refuse to participate and validate, even one more minute, in this simulacrum of trial, in this ‘judgment as a joke’“, he reinforced.

Pedro Delille represented José Sócrates since November 2014when the former prime minister (2005-2011) was detained at Lisbon airport.

José Ramos appointed

An unofficial lawyer was appointed to represent the former ruler. Jose Ramoswho, in his first intervention at this Tuesday’s hearing, asked for 48 hours to consult the process.

However, the application was rejected by the president of the panel of judges, Susana Secawith the argument that Operation Marquês is an urgent process and that the deadline would be “manifestly insufficient” to get to know the files.

The judge also ordered a communication to the Bar Association regarding For Pedro Delconsidering your behavior “likely to offend the principles of urbanity” established in the professional statute of lawyers.

Neither Pedro Delille nor José Sócrates appeared this Tuesday at the Lisbon Justice Campus, where the Central Criminal Court of Lisbon is located.

The session takes place with the hearing of witnesses.

José Sócrates, 68 years old, is convicted (accused after instruction) of 22 crimes, including three of corruption, for having allegedly received money to benefit the Lena group, the Espírito Santo Group (GES) and the Algarve resort of Vale do Lobo in different dossiers.

In total, the case has 21 defendants, who have, in general, denied committing the 117 economic and financial crimes accused of them.

The trial has been running since July 3 and has sessions scheduled until at least December 18, 2025.