Francisco Rasgado, director and founder of the Chela Press newspaper, signed an article last year denouncing alleged acts of corruption, mismanagement and embezzlement of public funds linked to the Benguela government, then led by Rui Falcão, and was sued for libel and defamation.
"He was acquitted of all crimes. The Benguela District Court considered as proved that the text was a reflection about a public denouncement involving state means deviated and delivered without observance of the presuppositions as the law of public contracting and the law of public patrimony", the lawyer José Faria told Lusa.
Francisco Rasgado was accused of a crime of insult against public authority, under a complaint filed by Rui Falcão and a crime of defamation under the lawsuit filed by Carlos Cardoso, of the construction company CCJ, alleged beneficiary of the equipment.
The journalist was even detained for three days for allegedly missing a session of the trial, for which, according to his lawyer, he was not notified.
José Faria said that Rui Falcão's representatives have already announced that they will appeal.
"We are going to wait for the sentence to become final and, at that time, we are going to ask for compensation from the former governor for having brought this case in a slanderous manner," said the lawyer, adding that the grounds are related to the fact that he was not able to prove the crime and for the damage caused to the journalist "who was detained on top of that.
With the acquittal, the million-dollar compensation sought by Rui Falcão, exceeding one billion kwanzas, also falls apart, stressed the 64-year-old journalist's lawyer.
José Faria welcomed the decision, which "was expected", considering that it motivates journalists to continue denouncing crimes of a public nature.
"It is very important that today, when we celebrate freedom of the press, we have given a gift to a journalist who carries out his profession with pride, courage and great strength," he said.
According to the article by Francisco Rasgado, the issue at stake was the detour of equipment for civil construction, distributed by the central government, which were seized by the Attorney General's Office (PGR) for suspected fraud in the awarding of contracts to the firm CCJ
The machines were later returned to the construction company, according to Voice of America (Voa), after the Angolan construction company threatened to fire 53 workers.
A source from the OPG told Voa at the time that the return of the machines does not mean that the case will be closed, and if there is any criminal matter, the investigation will continue until its conclusion.
