Portuguese judge orders release of second detainee in paedophilia probe

RDP Antena 1 radio, Lisbon

[Presenter] Hugo Marcal [a lawyer, and one of the people on preventive custody on suspicion of participation in a paedophilia scandal at Lisbon's Casa Pia orphanage] has been released. The court's decision was announced in the early hours of Saturday [18 October] following three days of questioning by Rui Teixeira, the judge in charge of this case. Marcal had been detained on remand since 5 May. Reporter Fatima Cid followed the events, which took place at approximately 0400 hours this morning:

[Reporter] At approximately 0355 this morning, it became apparent Hugo Marcal would not be returning to Lisbon Prison when a car carrying his wife entered the garage of Lisbon's Criminal Court. Minutes later, Marcal's lawyer, Joao Nabais, left the court premises and announced his client had been released. [Passage omitted]

Hugo Marcal was released on the condition that he reports to the police on a weekly basis and on a 10,000-euro bail.

[Editor's note: On 8 October, the Lisbon Court of Appeal ordered the release of former government minister and MP Paulo Pedroso, who had also been detained on suspicion of participation in the same case. Other detainees include a TV anchorman, a former diplomat and a former orphanage employee, who stands accused not only of sexual abuse but also of procuring minors for prostitution. State TV RTP International today reported the concerns of the head of orphanage Casa Pia, Catalina Pestana, who has said that today's ruling has left the children and teenagers awaiting to testify in the trial confused, and that they are beginning to have second thoughts about testifying, given the latest developments].