The former prime minister José Sócrates presented a complaint against prosecutor Rosário Teixeira, who led the Operation Marquês investigation, for considering false the testimony he gave in court. The complaint was presented to the attorney general and concerns facts that may constitute the crime of false testimony, referring to the testimony that Rosário Teixeira gave under oath at the Administrative Court of Círculo de Lisboa.
The complaint is related to the trial of an administrative action brought by Sócrates against the Portuguese State in 2017, in which he demanded compensation of at least 50 thousand euros for the alleged violation of deadlines for the conclusion of the Operation Marquês inquiry. In May of this year, Rosário Teixeira initially denied any contact with journalists before Sócrates' detention in 2014, later admitting he may have spoken to a journalist, but insisting he never shared information about the investigation. Sócrates now asks that it be investigated whether the first response was knowingly false.
In the complaint, the former government official also argues that, preventively, the prosecutor should be removed from any investigation and decision that may be connected to him. In June, the Portuguese State was ordered to compensate José Sócrates in 15 thousand euros for maladministration of justice in the Operation Marquês case, whose inquiry was opened in July 2013 and the indictment filed in October 2017.
The trial of the former socialist prime minister, aged 68, and of 20 other defendants for corruption and other crimes began on July 3, 2025, at the Central Criminal Court of Lisbon, with dozens of witnesses still to be heard.
