According to the jurist, the position of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is symptomatic that Angola has violated international law and the conventions and treaties to which it is a party, noting that the decision does not have automatic effect for Angola.
"The effect of this decision is an effect that in law is called "soft-law" (a legal instrument that provides flexibility to those who use it), that is, it is not mandatory for Angola to immediately release Carlos São Vicente, because whoever has the power to freeing Carlos São Vicente is not the UN, but the Angolan courts or Angolan sovereign bodies", Rui Verde told Lusa this Tuesday.
Verde noted that the effect of the UN body's decision "is not immediate", considering, however, that the authors of the opinion state that Angola "is violating international law".
"And Angola has to take the consequences of this, but taking the consequences is an internal Angolan decision", he noted.
For the academic, the UN decision is "devastating" for the international credibility of the African country, highlighting that the process of combating corruption in Angola, "carried out by the courts, is full of violations of international law".
"This may not have an immediate impact on Carlos São Vicente's position, but it has to have an immediate impact on the way the fight against corruption is being conducted, it has to lead to a review, because we cannot be fighting corruption and then discovering that the trials are not fair", he noted.
He also defended the review of anti-corruption procedures in Angola, stating that the UN decision "calls into question, although from a still theoretical perspective", the legal or non-legal procedures that are being carried out in Angola.
"This UN position does not have immediate legal impacts, but it is a position that has to have a political impact on what is called criminal policy and, therefore, I think it has to lead to a review of the methods that are being used", insisted the jurist.
The United Nations working group on Arbitrary Detention concluded that the detention of Portuguese-Angolan businessman Carlos São Vicente was arbitrary and called for his immediate release and compensation, according to the definitive opinion released on Monday.
São Vicente was sentenced, on March 24, 2022, to nine years in prison for the crimes of embezzlement, tax fraud and money laundering, as well as paying compensation of 500 million dollars (464 million euros).
The businessman's Swiss defense lawyers, François Zimeray and Jessica Finnelle, appealed to the UN at the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in March 2021, six months after the businessman was arrested on suspicion of embezzlement and money laundering crimes.
This Tuesday, in his analysis of this UN position, Rui Verde also criticized the Angolan legal authorities for submitting their response to that body "out of time", and understands that it translates into "negligence" of Angola.
"Angola submitted its objection after the deadline, that is, it did not comply with the UN precepts. (Angola) forgot, was distracted and, therefore, it was Carlos São Vicente's version alone that prevailed due to negligence or lack of attendance of the Angolan authorities, which is not favorable, in relation to Angola, on the international scene", concluded Rui Verde.
