Transcription error cost Portugal's head of government his job
A judicial scandal rocks Portugal: the public prosecutor's office accuses head of government Costa of corruption and searches his official residence, among other things. The politician resigns, but a week later it emerges that the investigators have written down the wrong name.
Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa has apparently resigned due to a transcription error by the Portuguese public prosecutor's office. The Austrian newspaper "Standard", among others, reports that the investigators had to admit a serious mistake: the alleged evidence of the misconduct of the politician from the Socialist Party (PS) is based on an incorrect transcription of a telephone conversation, it is said. In the conversation, the speech was made by Economy Minister António Costa Silva, not Prime Minister Costa as claimed.
The Portuguese public prosecutor's office had accused Costa of being involved in corruption in the awarding of licenses for lithium mines and other major projects. Investigators searched several ministries, 38 other properties and Costa's seat of government in Lisbon. The socialist head of government denied any guilt, but nevertheless offered his resignation on November 7 due to doubts about his "integrity". Two days later, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa dissolved the Portuguese parliament and called a new election for March 10.
Less than a week later, the allegations made by the public prosecutor's office collapsed. Investigators admitted that the second surname of Economy Minister Costa Silva had simply not been included in the transcription of the telephone conversations. "For the first time in the history of our freedom, we are witnessing a serious negative link between justice and politics", a nationally known column summed up the failure of justice on Wednesday. All five of those arrested, including Vitor Escária, head of the prime minister's cabinet, and Lacerda Machado, businessman and friend of Costa, were released, albeit with conditions in some cases.
"Deviation is not a problem"
In the opinion of the Association of Portuguese Public Prosecutors, the error has "no major relevance" for further investigations. It is not a problem "that there is a certain discrepancy between the transcription and the audio recording, as all those involved in the proceedings have access to these, and ultimately the recording is what is valid as evidence", she is quoted as saying by the "Standard".
What happens next in Portugal is still unclear. Costa's Socialist Party (PS) wants to appoint a successor to the resigned head of government at a special party conference in December, who is to defend the government majority in March.
The Austrian newspaper "Standard" revealeds that the allegations against Prime Minister Costa for corruption were based on a transcription error, misidentifying Economy Minister Costa Silva in a telephone conversation. Despite the Portuguese public prosecutor's office accusing Costa of involvement in lithium mines and other major projects' license awarding, investigators were forced to admit their mistake, leading to the collapse of the allegations.
Source: www.ntv.de
