[ad_1]
“The Tancos case was much more than a criminal investigation. It was knowing what happened, what justified the warehouses being in that state and what could be done to not happen again [um furto]”Azeredo Lopes answered on the second day of interrogation as a defendant in the case for the theft and discovery of military material.
In view of “the almost absolute ease with which warehouses could be raided, the crucial point was, as far as I was concerned, that it would never happen again,” he added.
According to the former minister, “the perception that existed at that time was that it was not a galactic assault, with global criminals”, since “there was an informant [conhecido por ‘Fechaduras’] and if I knew there might be an assault, this shouldn’t be particularly difficult to solve. “
Regarding the conflicts between the Civil Judicial Police (PJ) and the military (PJM) regarding the attribution of the investigation to the robbery, Azeredo Lopes reiterated that it was his conviction that “there was no parallel or illegal investigation,” saying that there was no I had doubts. that “the PJM acted as an adjunct to the investigation,” under the direction of the Public Ministry.
He also assumed that the various discrepancies that occurred over time, for example in relation to the list of stolen material or the amount of it, irritated him, but that, at the same time, he calmed down when he learned that the devices considered most dangerous were outdated.
Asked about the three documents delivered to the Ministry by the former director of PJM and accused Luis Vieira, the former minister said that it was a tape from the time, a legal analysis of the passage of the investigation to the PJ -decision always contested by the colonel- . and the order of the Attorney General to grant powers to the PJ.
“My conviction was that the colonel had delivered the documents for future memory,” he said.
Another issue that was addressed again at the trial was the memorandum, an undated, unsigned document written on non-letterhead that was received by his chief of staff, General Martins Pereira.
“As I said, they informed me of the essentials. The document served to explain and clarify the ‘modus operandi’ ”, he insisted, and said that it would not be used to enter the Ministry’s documents and that it should be destroyed”.
Asked by a lawyer whether he did not consider handing it over to Joana Marques Vidal, Azeredo Lopes explained that he maintained that it did not contain any substantial change to what was said in a phone call between them.
After the aforementioned call, in which the PGR informed him of the personal and institutional discontent because he was not informed about the circumstances of the appearance of military material, in Chamusca in October 2017, and that there was no articulation between the two policemen . Azeredo Lopes said he was “quietly waiting” for disciplinary procedures to be instituted [a elementos da PJM] by the PGR and although it did not have the power to establish them.
Regarding the discontent expressed by Joana Marques Vidal, the defendant insisted that before the discovery of the war material was made public by a statement from the PJM, the Central Directorate for Investigation and Criminal Action (DCIAP) was informed.
After the statement, the former minister’s lawyer told the press that his client “answered all the questions without stuttering” considering that “it is too much”, arguing that “talking too much is a characteristic of the innocent.”
“He answered all the questions that were asked and clearly. He talked too much and that is a characteristic of the innocent, ”said Germano Marques da Silva, taking the opportunity to criticize the way in which the investigation phase was carried out in relation to the former minister.
“The instruction was not an instruction, everyone knows that he is never in that court [Central de instrução Criminal]”Said the lawyer, in a criticism of judge Carlos Alexandre.
The Prosecutor’s Office considers that Azeredo Lopes withheld information from the Attorney General’s Office about the recovery of weapons from the arsenals and wanted Joana Marques Vidal to be complacent with the situation.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, Azeredo Lopes knew about the staging, accepted it and could have opposed and reported the irregularity to the PGR.
Azeredo Lopes, who resigned in October 2018, is accused of four crimes: denial of justice and embezzlement, personal favoring of an employee, abuse of power and denial of justice.
The Tancos case has 23 defendants, 10 defendants are responsible for criminal association, trafficking and mediation of weapons and terrorism, for the alleged participation in the theft of weapons and the remaining 13, including Azeredo Lopes, two members of the PJM and several military personnel from The GNR, Lighting of the scene / recovery of masking material occurred in the Chamusca region, an operation that involved PJM, together with elements of Faro GNR.
