Nuno Rebelo de Sousa made his long-awaited appearance this afternoon before the parliamentary committee probing the €4 million treatment two children born and living in Brazil received following his request for help for them to his father, Portugal’s president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa – but said nothing of any use. He told MPs: “”As I have previously informed you through my lawyers, I will follow their advice at this hearing. That advice being not to answer questions in this committee.” MPs nonetheless went through the motions, with one accusing Mr Rebelo de Sousa of being a coward. Nuno Rebelo’s reasoning for silence is that he is already an official suspect in the public prosecutor’s investigation into this matter. Former Assistant Secretary of State for Health, António Lacerda Sales, is also a defendant in this probe, and equally stayed silent when he faced the parliamentary commission last month.
President’s son ‘faces parliamentary committee’ refusing to talk
The unedifying spectacle today of a president's son invoking the right to silence in parliament. Image: António Pedro Santos/ Lusa
