The start of the trial was scheduled for January 26, but it was postponed to this Friday, but at the entrance a justice official informed the journalists that they should not capture images or audio, but only take notes.
For the journalists present at the court, the arguments of the bailiff, who alleges guidance from the judge in the case, translates into an impediment, "since the hearing is public".
Leão Vital, a journalist for TV Zimbo, expressed his indignation at the situation, considering that the trial hearings are public in nature.
More than 15 journalists have so far not accessed the courtroom where the defendant, family members, defense, court officials and other interested parties are already present.
The restrictions on journalists were also condemned by the lawyer Helder Chiuto, considering it a violation of the citizens' right to information.
The trial of Carlos São Vicente, arrested since September 2020 on charges of embezzlement, tax fraud and money laundering, begins this Friday at the 3rd Criminal Section of the Luanda District Court.
The businessman, married to Irene Neto, daughter of the first Angolan president, António Agostinho Neto, has been in preventive detention since September 2020 and is accused of several crimes, including tax fraud, involving amounts in excess of one billion euros, embezzlement and money laundering. of capital.
According to the indictment, the businessman, who for almost two decades had the monopoly of insurance and reinsurance of the state oil company Sonangol, will have set up a triangular scheme, with companies in Angola, London and Bermuda, which generated losses for the Angolan treasury, in fiscal terms, in an amount in excess of one billion euros.
