The permanence of the more than 30 lawyers in the case, where 49 defendants are listed, with emphasis on Major Pedro Lussati, considered the head of the group, was decided after a consultation meeting between the defense, the Public Prosecutor's Office (MP) and the collective of judges.
After the postponement of Thursday's session, following protests by the defense on Wednesday, which complained of the court's lack of impartiality in its treatment with the MP, the hearings resumed this Friday with the presentation and answers of the questions previews.
The judge in the case, Andrade da Silva, at the opening of the session, expressed his willingness to hear the defense's complaints and these were presented by the lawyers.
One of the lawyers asked the Luanda District Court to give reasons in a hearing on what he considers to be "serious omissions and contradictions" contained in the case file.
Subsequently, the judge interrupted the session, at the request of the lawyers, for consultation between the court, the defense and the MP, which lasted close to two hours.
"The consensus reached regarding the consultation in the courtroom is that, in fact, we will continue with the hearings according to the principles and rules that guide the smooth running of the trial, ruling out any situation that could jeopardize the good administration of justice and not delaying the smooth running of the process," lawyer Francisco Muteka told reporters.
Muteka is a lawyer for Major Pedro Lussati, assigned to the Military House of the Presidency of the Republic, detained in possession of millions of dollars, euros and kwanzas stored in suitcases, crates and in several vehicles.
"[The concertation] had to do with situations of organizations of the court itself, the good progress of justice in function of a very complex case and, naturally, that it was necessary to touch here pertinent questions that have to do with the good administration of justice" , said the lawyer.
At the trial, which began on Tuesday, preliminary questions continue to be discussed, some of which have already merited consideration by the MP and the judge, although concerns persist within the defense.
More than 200 deponents are involved in this mega-process, whose trial sessions take place at the Talatona Convention Center, in Luanda, and the MP's accusations are also awaited.
Francisco Muteka also said that the defense does not oppose the presence at trial of the two prosecutors who participated in the preparatory investigation phase, as they previously questioned in the preliminary questions and rejected by the judge.
"The magistrates will be at the next hearings because the court dismissed this issue raised by the defense, in fact we, as the defense, must respect the court's position on this issue, which is currently very debatable in doctrine", he stressed.
The issue of the impediments raised "has to do with the principle of impartiality and here impartiality is not raised much by the MP's magistrates, it is more by the judges because they are the guarantors and guardians of the Constitution, respecting the principle of objectivity", he considered.
"That is why we understand that there is nothing to fear regarding the presence or not of the magistrates who participated in the preparatory investigation phase, if they come to defend the accusations now in the trial phase, let them come, the stronger the MP is the better and eventually the defense must do its job and respond to expectations so that its constituents are all acquitted", said the lawyer.
Muteka also reiterated that the assets seized in the case were not auctioned, as the MP assured in his considerations to the preliminary questions, because the defense "launched a set of procedures to make this auction unfeasible".
"And naturally, this supports the good administration of justice, respect for the principle of fair trial, because, in fact, that is evidence that must be discussed in the trial and the auction could not take place", concluded the lawyer.
Among the defendants are officers of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) and civilians, accused of embezzlement, criminal association, undue receipt of advantage, economic participation in business, abuse of power, fraud in the transport or transfer of currency abroad, illicit introduction of foreign currency into the country, illegal currency trading, prohibition of cash payments, withholding of currency, forgery of documents, money laundering and assuming false identity.
