Luanda, ANGOLA, September 12 - The defence lawyer of the former chief of Military Intelligence and Security Service, António José Maria "Zé Maria", last Wednesday in court refuted the accusations made by the Prosecution Department against his client, even deeming the position of the prosecution unconstitutional.,

Lawyer Sérgio Raimundo said there were procedural breaches relating to the investigation phase, as well as regarding presumption of innocence and the right to a fair trial.      

 

During the first session of the trial, last Wednesday, the said lawyer mentioned as example that an illegal search was conducted in the premises of the Eduardo dos Santos Foundation (FESA), specifying that at the time both the accused and his lawyer were not notified of the procedure.

 

Besides that, the defence lawyer also complains of the fact that the prosecution did not mention the quantity of “mishandled documents”.

 

General António José Maria "Zé Maria", who has been under remand since last June 17, is facing charges of “insubordination” and “mishandling of documents, sensitive material and military information”.   

 

Zé Maria had been appointed in 2009, by the country’s former president, to the post of military intelligence chief and was dismissed in 2017 by President João Lourenço.

 

The second court session is happening this Thursday.  

,