Ana Gomes, the former Socialist Euro MP and tireless campaigner against corruption was acquitted today of defaming businessman/ media mogul (the first Portuguese into space!) Mário Ferreira by linking him to drug trafficking in a social media post.
According to the judge at the Bolhão court, in Porto, where the trial took place, Ms Gomes’ behaviour did not constitute a crime of defamation.
At issue was the publication that the former MEP made on March 14, 2021 on her Twitter page, now known as X, of a comment alluding to an article in the newspaper Expresso about Mário Ferreira’s investment in an aviation company, stating that the Porto businessman wanted to “emulate” OMNI Aviação e Tecnologia, a company that saw 500 tonnes of cocaine seized from its aircraft coming from Brazil.
Ms Gomes is no stranger to defamation actions: she has even weathered one from the current president of parliament, José Pedro Aguiar Branco.
