In a letter sent to the Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa, the Civic Front recalls that the former vice-president Manuel Vicente was accused of having corrupted the Portuguese prosecutor Orlando Figueira so that he archived investigations of money laundering in which he was targeted.
The association also recalls that Orlando Figueira was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for allowing himself to be corrupted, but Manuel Vicente, accused of being the active corruptor, was never tried, his case having been sent for trial in Angola five years ago. years. The trial has not yet taken place.
"Orlando Figueira's conviction validates the conviction of the Public Prosecutor's Office that Manuel Vicente was effectively the author and instigator of a crime of corruption that, for his personal benefit, wounded the heart of Portuguese Justice and the very sovereignty of Portugal as a State of Right. For this reason, the judgment of Manuel Vicente is necessary and urgent", writes the Civic Front.
According to the association, it is up to António Costa, who "publicly celebrated the decision to delegate the trial of Manuel Vicente to the Angolan State", to obtain guarantees of his trial.
"Corrupting a public prosecutor is not a mere "irritant", it is a serious crime - which rightly led to a heavy conviction of the corrupted prosecutor. The accused corruptor must be tried for the crimes he is accused of. given to him by Portugal, leaving the case in impunity, would be to subscribe to a serious and frontal offense against Portuguese sovereignty", underlines the association.
The Civic Front also says that "if Angola is not in a position to guarantee a swift and fair trial of its former vice-president, it will be up to Portugal to return the case to the national courts, as provided for in the law, so that justice is done.
Thus, the association appeals to the Portuguese Prime Minister to formally ask the Angolan State, as part of his visit to Angola next Monday and Tuesday, for "specific and precise guarantees that the delegation of the process will be respected and that the trial of Manuel Vicente will be carried out, with guarantees of independence of the Angolan courts, within a specific - and brief - period, which must be indicated".
The letter was also sent to the Attorney General of the Portuguese Republic, Lucília Gago.
