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Carlos Cardoso Murder Trial
Mailing 1 - 17 November 2002
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The trial of six men accused of the murder of Mozambique's best-known
journalist, Carlos Cardoso, will begin Monday 18 November, on the premises
of the city's top security prison (known as the B.O.). Trial Judge Augusto
Paulino rejected an objection from lawyers defending the six men.

Meanwhile, Paulino has been stalked by unknown men, who were involved in a
shootout with the police in front of Paulino's home.

Finally, another five men have been named in connection with the case and
are being investigated. They are:
+ Octavio Muthemba, former president of Banco Austral,
+ Nympine Chissano, the son of President Joaquim Chissano
+ former attorney-general Antonio Namburete,
+ former assistant attorney-general Manuel Duarte, and
+ former Sofala provincial chief attorney, Diamantino dos Santos.

----------------------------------
AIM & MediaFax clippings
circulated by Joseph Hanlon
([email protected])
I will be circulating these reports weekly
during the trial. If you do NOT want to be on
the circulation list, please let me know.
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THREAT TO TRIAL JUDGE
==================

651102E CARDOSO MURDER: UNKNOWN INDIVIDUALS STALK JUDGE

Maputo, 14 Nov (AIM) - The Mozambican police have stepped up
protection for Augusto Paulino, the judge who will preside at
next week's trial of the six men accused of murdering the
country's best-known journalist, Carlos Cardoso.

Sources in the Maputo City Court, cited by the latest issue
of the weekly paper "Zambeze", said that unknown individuals,
using a red saloon car, appeared to have been spying on the
judge's movement in recent days.

On Sunday and Monday these individuals were seen on several
occasions in the vicinity of the apartment bloc where Paulino
lives. They asked questions about the judge, and about his home.

Paulino informed the police, and since Monday uniformed and
plain clothes policemen have been watching the building, to
ensure that nothing will happen to the judge that may abort the
trial.
...
(AIM)
pf/ (308)

Except from AIM 741102E:

The general commander of the Mozambican police, Miguel dos
Santos, has guaranteed that security is being stepped up. On
Mozambican television on Thursday night, he said the police had
taken seriously reports that unknown individuals were stalking
Judge Paulino and spying on his house. He revealed that one of
these individuals has been detained.

But from legal sources, AIM has learnt that this detention
involved a shootout in the area where Paulino lives, between the
police and at least half a dozen suspects, of whom the police
only managed to arrest one.

==================
OTHERS NAMED
==================

551102E CARDOSO MURDER: PROSECUTORS MAY BE PROSECUTED

Maputo, 13 Nov (AIM) - The judge in the case of the murder of
Mozambique's best known journalist, Carlos Cardoso, has extended
his investigations to cover a former attorney-general, and two
other prominent prosecuting attorneys.

According to Wednesday's issue of the independent newsheet
"Mediafax", the judge in the case, Augusto Paulino, has submitted
a request to the Supreme Court, demanding an investigation into
former attorney-general Antonio Namburete, former assistant
attorney-general Manuel Duarte, and former Sofala provincial
chief attorney, Diamantino dos Santos.

The investigation would be to assess what involvement, if
any, these three attorneys had in the assassination of Cardoso,
who was gunned down in a central Maputo street on 22 November
2000.

The initiative to seek an investigation comes from judge
Paulino himself, and follows statements made by one of the
businessmen accused of ordering the murder, Momad Assife Abdul
Satar.

Following the escape from the Maputo top security prison on
1 September of the man whom Satar allegedly hired to organise the
murder, Anibal dos Santos Junior ("Anibalzinho"), Satar was
interrogated at length. He is said to have made statements
incriminating the three former attorneys.~

The case must go to the Supreme Court, because Mozambican
law establishes that only the Supreme Court can try members of
the Attorney-General's Office. Furthermore, the Supreme Court is
already dealing with allegations against the same three attorneys
that they were involved in a massive 1996 fraud, in which the
equivalent of 14 million dollars was siphoned out of the
country's largest bank, the BCM, on the eve of its privatisation.

Momade Abdul Satar and other members of his family, and BCM
branch manager Vicente Ramaya, were accused of masterminding the
theft, using fraudulent accounts opened in Ramaya's branch. But
the case never came to court, due to corruption in the Attorney-
General's Office.

Diamantino dos Santos, who was the prosecutor initially in
charge of the investigation, was particularly involved. He is
accused of deliberately disorganising the case papers, and
ensuring that documents provided by the BCM went missing.

A warrant was issued for dos Santos's arrest in January
2001. But he was alerted, and slipped out of the country. His
current whereabouts are unknown.

There have always been strong suspicions that other top
attorneys were involved in the BCM fraud, and it was Namburete's
failure to deal with the issue that precipitated his downfall.
President Joaquim Chissano sacked him, and all six assistant
attorney-generals, in July 2000.

Cardoso had been among those investigating the BCM case, and
demanding that those responsible be brought to justice. Through
the pages of "Metical", the paper he edited and owned, he also
pushed for a clean-up of the legal system, and particularly for
changes in the Attorney-General's Office.

Luis Mondlane, the Supreme Court judge in charge of the BCM
case, told "Mediafax", that the accusation against the three
attorneys entered the court in March. But he would give no
further details, on the grounds that the case is "sub judice".

This is the usual excuse that magistrates give journalists
when they don't want to admit that nothing is happening in a
case. When "Mediafax" contacted Namburete, he said he did not
even know that he was under investigation because of the BCM
scandal, and had never received any summons from the Supreme
Court.

"I've never made any statement in this case you're talking
about, and I don't even know if there is a case", he said.

This case arises out of an inquiry launched when, in March
2000, one prominent deputy, Eneas Comiche, denounced in the
country's parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, the failure
of prosecutors to investigate the BCM case properly.

Supreme Court judge Luis Sacramento headed this inquiry,
which was concluded on 15 March 2001. "Mediafax" has now obtained
information on the conclusions of the inquiry, which found that
the investigation into the BCM fraud had been deliberately
disorganised "in order to obstruct justice".

It blamed Diamantino dos Santos, and two Maputo attorneys,
Rui Seuane and Joao Julio Mutisse, who were directly handling the
case, and Manuel Duarte, who should have had a supervisory role.

Important documents were indeed missing from the case file,
and the inquiry said this was the responsibility of the four
attorneys and of two inspectors of the Criminal Investigation
Police (PIC), Ricardo Chiziane and Jeremias Cumbe.

The absence of important documents showed not simply
carelessness, but a deliberate attempt to hide evidence, which is
grounds for criminal, rather than merely disciplinary,
proceedings.

As for Namburete, the inquiry found that he was informed of
the irregular behaviour of his subordinates during the initial
investigations of the BCM fraud, but took no measures to correct
matters. The inquiry criticised Namburete's predecessor as
attorney-general, Sinai Nhatitima, for the same inactivity.

Namburete told "Mediafax" he had no knowledge of the
inquiry's conclusions. He had given his statement to the inquiry,
and had heard no more about it.

He claimed that establishing the inquiry was his own
initiative, and did not understand how an inquiry he had
requested could come out with conclusions blaming him for
irregularities.

He denied outright that he had anything to do with the
murder of Cardoso. "How can an Attorney-General be involved in
the death of Carlos Cardoso ? I'm even a Catholic", he exclaimed.

He said he had no motive for the murder, and never had any
contact with Satar or with any of the others who have been
charged with the murder. The mention of his name, he argued, "can
only be a conspiracy dreamed up a long time ago to distract
attention and find scapegoats".

"There's always been an intention to involve me with
organised crime", Namburete protested. "This investigation is not
impartial."
(AIM)
pf/ (951)

MediaFax Maputo quarta-feira, 13.11.2002, Nº2652

1-Caso Carlos Cardoso
Juiz manda investigar ex-Procuradores
Processo Muthemba/Nympine Chissano recebeu o No 188/02
"Isto e um complot", Antonio Namburete, ex-PGR
mediaFAX revela resultados da actuaçao de alguns ex-procuradores no caso
BCM
(Maputo) Os ex-procuradores Antonio Namburete (antigo PGR), Manuel Duarte
(antigo PGR adjunto) e Diamantino dos Santos (antigo procurador provincial
de Sofala) deverao ser ouvidos pelo Tribunal Supremo numa investigaçao que
se destina apurar o seu envolvimento no caso do assassinato do jornalista
Carlos Cardoso.
O juiz que lida com o caso, Augusto Paulino, acaba de remeter ao Supremo
um ofício solicitando uma investigaçao aos antigos procuradores. Estes
nomes vem juntar-se aos de Octavio Muthemba e de Nympine Chissano na lista
de figuras que deverao ser ouvidas em processos autonomos, e nao no que
vai começar a ser julgado na proxima segunda feira. Tambem como no caso de
Muthemba e Nympine, a iniciativa de investigaçao aos ex-procuradores
partiu do juiz e surge na sequencia de alegados depoimentos do arguido
Momad Assif (Nini). Os antigos procuradores terao sido referidos por Momad
Assif ao longo dos interrogatorios à fuga do arguido Anibalzinho.

De acordo com fontes proximas do processo, as referidas declaraçoes nao
foram assinadas por Momad Assif, mas a Comissao de Inquerito fez questao
de entrega-las ao juiz. Este assumiu-as seriamente. Durante o dia de
ontem, o mediaFAX procurou ouvir dois dos tres procuradores, nomeadamente
Manuel Duarte e Antonio Namburete (recorde-se que o terceiro, Diamantino
encontra-se fugitivo desde o ano 2000). Com Manuel Duarte nao conseguimos
falar. Ele encontra-se fora do país e, embora tenhamos obtido o seu
contacto por celular, a comunicaçao nao foi possível.

Quanto a Antonio Namburete, este disse-nos que estava a tomar conhecimento
do assunto pela primeira vez. Namburete disse ao mediaFAX que nunca teve
contacto com nenhum dos arguidos detidos, nem pessoalmente nem por
telefone, e que a mençao ao seu nome "so pode ser um complot ja ha muito
tempo urdido para distrair a atençao e encontrarem-se bodes expiatorios".
Ele questionou-se "como e que um PGR pode estar envolvido na morte de
Carlos Cardoso, eu que ate sou catolico?".
Namburete alega que "houve sempre a intençao de me envolverem ao crime
organizado". Ele alimenta a opiniao de que "esta investigaçao nao esta a
ser isenta".
"E absurdo. Estranho, completamente estranho", desabafou, acrescentando
que nunca teve motivaçoes para estar envolvido na morte de Carlos Cardoso.
Namburete repetiu que nao conhece Momad Assif, nunca teve relaçoes com ele
e "nem sei o número de telemovel dele".

PROCESSO NO TRIBUNAL SUPREMO
Diferentemente de Muthemba e Nympine, as alegaçoes contra os
ex-procuradores na esteira do assassinato do jornalista foram canalizadas
ao Supremo. Porque? As nossas fontes explicam que isso se deve ao facto de
estar a correr no Supremo um processo-crime contra os mesmos procuradores
na sequencia do caso da fraude ao BCM. Este processo foi remetido em Março
deste ano pela Procuradoria Geral da Republica, encontrando-se sob a
alçada do Juiz Conselheiro, Luís Mondlane.

Na semana passada, Mondlane confirmou ao mediaFAX que esta a trabalhar no
caso, mas nao quis aprofundar a conversa connosco escudando-se no segredo
de justiça. Este processo corre no Supremo dado que a materia imputada aos
ex-procuradores refere-se à sua actuaçao enquanto procuradores - a Lei
estabelece que processos envolvendo altos magistrados do Ministerio
Publico devem correr sob a alçada do Supremo.

O juiz do caso Cardoso decidiu que, uma que ja corre no Supremo este
processo sobre o caso BCM, as investigaçoes aos procuradores no caso do
assassinato tem de correr tambem la. Um parecer obtido pelo mediaFAX
aponta, no entanto, que os dois casos sao diferentes e que as
investigaçoes no âmbito do assassinato podiam acontecer fora do Supremo
uma vez que o crime foi cometido quando os procuradores ja nao exerciam
funçoes.
Mas quanto ao processo-crime contra os procuradores o que e que esta a
acontecer?

O Dr. Luís Mondlane escusou-se a dizer que passos foram dados desde Março
ate aqui. (NE: Mondlane recorre ao segredo de justiça para nao falar, mas
em nenhuma parte do mundo o segredo de justiça impede que se prestem
informaçoes sobre o curso de uma investigaçao, nao necessariamente sobre o
seu conteúdo, mas sobre os passos dados). A crer no que nos disse Antonio
Namburete, ontem, este processo nao estar a andar. Namburete disse-nos que
desconhece que haja um processo-crime envolvendo o seu nome, referiu que
nunca foi notificado sequer: "Nunca fui ouvido no processo de que fala,
nem sei se existe algum processo", disse ele ao mediaFAX.

O processo-crime contra os antigos procuradores foi instaurado na
sequencia de um inquerito levado a cabo pelo Tribunal Supremo visando
apurar responsabilidades de alguns magistrados do Ministerio Público em
relaçao ao arrastamento do caso BCM. O inquerito teve lugar no ano 2000 e,
no inicio do ano passado, o extinto jornal Metical ja tinha dado conta de
que o processo apurara responsabilidades criminais imputaveis a alguns
procuradores, entre os quais os agora mencionados no caso Cardoso.

Perguntamos ao ex-PGR Antonio Namburete se tinha conhecimento dos
resultados desse inquerito. Ele disse que nao, que nunca foi informado
sobre isso. Apenas confirmou ter sido inquirido no âmbito do inquerito.
"Prestei o meu depoimento na altura, mas nunca vi os resultados". E
enfatizou que foi ele proprio quem ordenou a realizaçao do inquerito, por
isso nao compreende como e que um inquerito por si ordenado apure
responsabilidades contra si.
Ele argumenta que, enquanto PGR, nunca esteve ligado à investigaçao do
caso BCM. "Esse processo estava na cidade (PGR-cidade de Maputo) e o
Procurador Geral nao podia envolver-se nele". Para Namburete, "e muito
estranho o que esta a acontecer".

O QUE DIZ O INQUERITO
Mas o que diz, afinal, o tal inquerito? O mediaFAX apurou que o inquerito
teve origem na intervençao do deputado Eneas Comiche numa sessao da
Assembleia da República no ano 2000, o qual denunciou o facto de o
Ministerio Público nao ter investigado cabalmente a fraude ao BCM; entre
as acusaçoes de Comiche ao MP constavam a de que o processo da fraude
estava totalmente desorganizado (facto confirmado mais tarde pelo Juiz
Achirafo Abdul, que esta a tratar o caso neste momento); a falta de varios
documentos considerados importantes e entregues ao processo pelo BCM; a
sonegaçao e descaminho de provas; e a falta de imparcialidade e
objectividade de alguns magistrados do MP intervenientes no processo.

O inquerito foi conduzido por um Juiz Conselheiro, o Dr. Sacramento, e o
documento final tem a data de 15 de Março de 2001, segundo as nossas
fontes. Em conclusao, o inquerito apurou uma serie de irregularidades no
processo da fraude ao BCM, nas quais se destaca a desorganizaçao do
processo, interpretada como "uma acçao deliberada com vista a dificultar a
acçao da justiça".
E aponta que "tais factos sao da responsabilidade dos agentes do MP que
dirigiram a instruçao do processo, nomeadamente Diamantino dos Santos, Rui
Seuane, do Procurador Chefe da cidade, Joao Júlio Mutisse, por lhe
competir, nessa qualidade, exercer a devida actividade controladora, e do
Procurador Geral Adjunto, Manuel Duarte, a quem cabia exercer a actividade
supervisora da instruçao do referido processo".

O inquerito tambem responsabiliza alguns inspectores da Policia de
Investigaçao Criminal, nomeadamente Ricardo Chiziane e Jeremias Cumbe, que
estiveram envolvidos na instruçao do processo. O inquerito apurou
igualmente a falta de "varios documentos importantes" nos autos, para o
que atribui responsabilidades ao agentes da PIC ja acima mencionados e aos
ex-procuradores Diamantino dos Santos e Rui Seuane, havendo
"co-responsabilidade dos procuradores Manuel Duarte e Joao Júlio Mutisse".

De acordo com o inquerito, "a falta de tais elementos e evidenciadora de
sonegaçao de elementos de prova, o que constitui nao so materia
disciplinar como ilícito criminal". A nao realizaçao de diligencias
requeridas pelo assistente (BCM) e imputada nao so a Diamantino dos Santo
e Rui Seaune, mas tambem aos procuradores Manuel Duarte e Júlio Mutisse,
"o primeiro na qualidade de supervisor e o segundo por lhe caber controlar
a actividade instrutoria dos agentes do MP seus subordinados".
Relativamente ao ex-PGR, Antonio Namburete, o inquerito realça que o mesmo
foi sendo informado das actuaçoes irregulares do MP no decurso da
instruçao preparatoria, mas "em todos os casos Namburete so se limitou a
tomar conhecimento e/ou a dar conhecimento... E em nenhuma das situaçoes
ordenou, como lhe competia, que fossem investigados os factos
denunciados". Esta alegaçao e extensiva ao antecessor de Namburete da
PGR, Sinai Nhatitima, responsabilizado por omissao, tal como Namburete.
Nhatitima e hoje Juiz Conselheiro no Tribunal Administrativo.
Numa entrevista ao jornal Metical no ano passado, Manuel Duarte declarou
nunca ter tido, enquanto procurador, qualquer relaçao com o processo da
fraude ao BCM.
(Marcelo Mosse)
...........

mediaFAX Maputo quinta-feira, 14.11.2002, Nº2653

1-Carlos Cardoso e a PGR de Namburete

Numa ida aos arquivos, mediaFAX recupera as abordagens críticas do editor
assassinado à anterior cúpula do Ministerio Público

(Maputo)"Qualquer que seja o ângulo pelo qual se olhe o caso BCM, ja ha
materia mais que suficiente para que toda a sociedade exija um
esclarecimento adequado. Parece evidente que a PGR nao quer investigar
nada. Sobram ao Estado, portanto, duas linhas de defesa: O PR demite o
actual PGR, nomeia outro, este outro afasta todos os procuradores
alegadamente envolvidos em cumplicidades com o crime e inicia uma
investigaçao seria da fraude, ou, entao, a AR institui uma CPI (Comissao
Parlamentar de Inquerito). Se nem o PR nem a AR agirem, isso sera um sinal
terrível de que, tambem a este nível, o Estado se demitiu da sua funçao de
defender a sociedade".

A 10 de Maio de 2000, o jornalista Carlos Cardoso estava profundamente
convicto da irrelevância da anterior PGR. Esta citaçao foi extraída do
editorial "Sociedade Indefesa", publicado nessa data. Ao longo dos meses
que se seguiram, Carlos Cardoso visou a PGR no seu todo, embora
enfatizando particularmente a necessidade da demissao de Antonio
Namburete, o que viria a 4 de Julho.

O caso BCM foi um dos alvos preferidos da agenda editorial do Metical, o
qual trouxe revelaçoes ineditas sobre como a fraude se tinha operado,
chegando mesmo a propor um debate público com alguns do principais
arguidos, entre os quais Vicente Ramaya, antigo gerente do balcao da
Sommerschield.

O debate nao chegou a acontecer, embora Cardoso tenha remetido uma seria
de questoes para Ramaya. No plano meramente informativo, cre-se que as
abordagens do Metical, por essa altura, estavam esgotadas. Um dos textos
informativos crucias, publicado em Maio, escrito pela sua pena, tentava
traçar o percurso da fraude ("Notas Biografica do Primeiro Cheque da
Fraude", 12/05/729). Estava-se na ressaca da notavel intervençao do
deputado Eneas Comiche na AR, e o editorial do Metical era um quase misto
de desespero e busca de alento. "Chega!", bradava. "A Constituiçao da
Republica responsabiliza o Presidente da República por este assunto. Ele
tem o poder de demitir o PGR".

Os textos informativos sobre os varios contornos da fraude e episodios
colaterais envolvendo os principais implicados surgem de vez em quando,
mas ao jornalista parecia restar escrever editoriais incisivos contra a
inacçao da justiça no caso, exigindo uma intervençao do poder político. O
atentado ao advogado do BCM no caso, ocorrido em finais de Novembro de 99,
radicalizou as abordagens de Cardoso. No artigo sobre o atentado,
intitulado "A Ponta do Iceberg", Cardoso amplificava a necessidade de
serem feitas investigaçoes ao antigo PGR Sinai Nhatitima e a Antonio
Namburete, relacionadas com o caso.

Nas semanas seguintes, e depois do anúncio de que o Estado havia reposto
os 14 milhoes de USD da fraude, o jornal revolta-se mais uma vez em
editorial: "O caso BCM, melhor do que qualquer outro, espelha o grau de
corrupçao a que chegamos. Roubam-se 14 milhoes de USD a um banco e o
Estado repoe todo o dinheiro.(...) E o caso torna-se mais revoltante ao
vermos como o Governo cruza os braços. Nem procuradorias, nem tribunais,
nem PR a pressionar a PGR. O conluio com o roubo e generalizado".

Os meses de Abril e Maio de 2000 sao profícuos em acontecimentos ligados à
fraude. A intervençao do deputado Eneas Comiche em Abril abalou os
recantos da PGR, onde em Maio começa a caça às bruxas. A 11 desse mes, a
PGR reúne o seu Conselho Tecnico e o Metical escreveu, a 25 de Maio, a
proposito, que "em vez de responder às perguntas do deputado Eneas Comiche
sobre o caso BCM, a Procuradoria Geral da República estava a ser levada
para um exercício 'mirabolante' de procura de responsaveis por uma frase
do informe anual da PGR à AR que criou grande embaraço à PGR pois,
aparentemente, nao correspondia a verdade".

Nessa mesma ediçao, o Metical dava eco a uma carta aberta escrita pelo
ex-Procurador Geral Adjunto, Afonso Antunes, na qual este ataca os seus
colegas. De acordo com Antunes, "a nível interno da PGR", estava-se a dar
ao caso BCM um rumo "com fins ainda pouco claros". Ou seja, em vez de se
investigar, estavam a ser movidas manobras de diversao para se desviarem
as atençoes do problema.

O Metical publicaria nessa ediçao e na seguinte a carta aberta de
Antunes.(NE: E preciso informar aos leitores do mediaFAX que o
ex-Procurador Antunes foi alvo de severas críticas no inquerito do
Tribunal Supremo à intervençao do Ministerio Público, mas, ao contrario
dos nomes referidos na nossa ediçao de ontem, Antunes saiu ilibado das
responsabilidades pelo arrastamento do caso, ver caixa).

A publicaçao da carta aberta de Antunes no Metical mexeu com a PGR. Afonso
Antunes foi suspenso por Namburete a 25 de Maio, no mesmo dia em que a
primeira parte da sua missiva foi publicada. No despacho de suspensao,
Namburete escrevera o seguinte: "Considerando ainda o que o ambiente
criado pela publicaçao do artigo poe em causa o normal funcionamento do
Conselho Tecnico e tendo em conta que estes factos ofendem, de forma
grave, o prestígio e dignidade...". Prestígio?, qual prestigio?,
interrogar-se-ia Cardoso, quando soube da suspensao de Antunes, quatro
dias depois.

"Ha muitos anos que a PGR nao tem prestígio nenhum. Vem de longe a
irrelevância da PGR como instrumento de defesa e promoçao da legalidade
(...). Agora temos o caso BCM. Porque e que a PGR nao investiga o caso?
Porque e que nao responde às perguntas do deputado Comiche? E tudo isto
nao passa da ponta do iceberg. A parte mais preocupada da opiniao pública
ha muito que se indaga se o problema da PGR e apenas o da incompetencia, o
de um defice de cultura em termos de apego ao proclamado Estado de
Direito, ou se e mais grave". "Enfim, o Presidente da Republica sabe tudo
isto. E, ate aqui, decidiu nao fazer nada no âmbito dos amplos poderes
correctivos que a Constituiçao lhe da".

Realce-se que a segunda parte da carta de Antunes tinha sido publicada a
26 de Maio. Quatro dias depois, Carlos Cardoso foi notificado pela PGR
para "prestar declaraçoes em Processo de Inquerito numero 1/PGR/2000".
Cardoso compareceu ao inquerito. Ele revelou mais tarde que tratava-se de
um inquerito interno da PGR sobre as "circunstâncias" e "motivaçoes"
inerentes à publicaçao da carta do Procurador Antunes no seu jornal.

"A PGR queria saber quem fez chegar ao 'mt' a 'carta aberta' do Procurador
Afonso Antunes. Naturalmente, limitei-me a responder que nao tinha nada a
responder, a nao ser isto: Achava muito estranho que se estivesse a
indagar de um editor quem fez chegar ao seu jornal um documento cujo
proprio autor, à partida, classificou de 'carta-aberta'". O episodio, ao
inves de intimidar o jornalista, serviu apenas para aguçar ainda mais o
seu inconformismo com a PGR.

No mesmo texto em que ele descreve a sua ida à PGR, que nao era um
editorial mas uma opiniao pessoal, Cardoso nota que "o problema
fundamental da PGR nao se resolve com inqueritos às intençoes deste ou
daquele pois ja assumiu a dimensao de um teste à democracia".

E acrescentava que "o problema e político. E e politicamente que ele tem
de ser resolvido. Esta PGR nao defende os interesses do Estado e nao
cumpre o seu dever político de ajudar a defender a sociedade contra o
crime". (Marcelo Mosse)

==================
OBJECTIONS TO HOLDING TRIAL IN PRISON
==================

741102E CARDOSO MURDER: DEFENCE LAWYERS THREATEN BOYCOTT

Maputo, 15 Nov (AIM) - Augusto Paulino, the judge in the case of
the murder of Mozambique's best-known journalist, Carlos Cardoso,
on Friday confirmed that the trial will begin next Monday, on the
premises of the city's top security prison (known as the B.O.).

Paulino thus rejected a demand from lawyers defending the
six men charged with the murder that the trial should be moved
elsewhere.

The lawyers - Domingos Arouca, Simiao Cuamba, Abdul Gani,
Eduardo Jorge and Samuel Valentim - are threatening to boycott
the trial, if it goes ahead inside the prison.

On Friday morning Arouca told reporters that a trial in the
B.O. would not be open to the public. "We don't want a secret
trial", he said. "We don't want trials in places that are not
public, and where there is no free access".

However, the Maputo City Court has repeatedly stressed that
the trial will be public. Anyone interested in attending will
just go to the prison. There is thought to be space for at least
100 people to attend - which is a much larger capacity than any
of the rooms in the Maputo City Court building itself.

The only limitation AIM is aware of concerns journalists:
because of the great interest and the limited space, each of the
media is being restricted to two credentials.

Arouca had another, technical argument, which is that the
prison is not within the jurisdiction of the Maputo City Court.
Although the B.O. is normally referred to as a Maputo prison, in
fact it is in Machava, which is a suburb of the city of Matola,
and therefore falls with the jurisdiction of a Matola court.

But Paulino disagrees, and has declared that there are no
legal grounds for the lawyers' request.

They are now in a difficult position. For they have been
officially notified, and if they do not attend, the trial can go
ahead without them. They can also be fined for contempt of court.

Arouca also said the five lawyers have instructed their
clients not to say anything at a trial held in the B.O. The only
effect of this instruction will be to shorten the trial, and to
prejudice the accused.

Other jurists are also opposed to a trial in the B.O. - but
for completely different reasons. Despite its name, there is
nothing secure about this top security prison - as shown by the
fact that one of the accused, Anibal dos Santos Junior
("Anibalzinho"), could escape simply because somebody among the
policemen supposedly guarding him opened the three padlocks on
his cell door and let him go.

If the prison guards can be bribed to release dangerous
criminals, then what grounds are there for believing that the
judge, the prosecutors or the witnesses will be safe inside the
prison ?

...

The police have given no official reason for holding the
trial in the B.O., but the version commonly heard is that this
will avoid any attempt by other criminals to rescue the accused
during the 15 kilometres journey from the prison to the court.

If the police - who possess armoured vehicles - really feel
unable to guarantee that prisoners who leave the B.O. will arrive
at the court, this is a shocking admission of incompetence.

Attorney-General Joaquim Madeira has defended the use of the
B.O. He told reporters that a court is not a building but an
institution, and it can hold sessions wherever it feels
appropriate.

He recalled that, when he was a district judge, he
occasionally had to hold hearings in the open underneath trees.
The unorthodox surroundings did not make the proceedings any less
legitimate.
(AIM)
pf/ (705)

761102E CARDOSO MURDER: JUDGE REFUTES LAWYERS
~
Maputo, 16 Nov (AIM) - Augusto Paulino, the judge in the case of
the murder of Mozambique's best-known journalist, Carlos Cardoso,
has publicly refuted all the arguments used by the lawyers for
the six accused, who are demanding that the venue for next week's
trial be changed.

The lawyers, Domingos Arouca, Simiao Cuamba, Abdul Gani,
Eduardo Jorge and Samuel Valentim, had sent the judge a formal
request on Friday morning, arguing that it is illegal to hold the
trial on the premises of the Maputo top security prison (commonly
known as the B.O.), where their clients are currently
incarcerated.

They had expressed fears that the trial would be held in
secret, and warned the judge that the Constitution expressly
forbids "the creation of courts exclusively intended to judge
certain categories of crime".

Judge Paulino's reply, received by AIM on Saturday, is that
"at no time has this court expressed an intention to restrict the
public nature of the trial, since there is nothing to justify
such restrictions. The trial in the B.O. will be public".

Nor was there any question of creating some anti-
constitutional special court. "The case is being heard by the
10th section of the Maputo city court, and the judges dealing
with the case are all from this court", Paulino said. "This
section has been dealing with many other cases, from the simplest
to the most complicated."

The lawyers also complained that the prison does not fall
within the area of jurisdiction of the Maputo city court, since
the B.O happens to be in Machava, which is a suburb of the
adjoining city of Matola.

Paulino easily dismissed this claim. "The question of the
territorial competence of the court cannot be posed", he said.
"The crime was committed in the territory of Maputo city, and the
court that will judge it is the Maputo City Court".

The court was empowered to hold the trial anywhere in the
country, which it believed offered "the conditions for judging in
tranquillity", he said.

Furthermore, much of the earlier investigation undertaken by
the court, notably interrogation of the accused, had taken place
inside the prison, and the lawyers had raised no objection. Nor
was it unprecedented to hold trials in prisons - the city court
had done so before, Paulino pointed out (albeit in much less
dramatic cases).

The lawyers have threatened to boycott the trial, and say
they have advised their clients to say nothing at the trial
unless the venue is changed.

These threats did not amuse the judge. He regarded some of
the language used by the lawyers as a violation of professional
ethics, and has remitted the case to the Bar Association.
(AIM)
pf/ (453)

==================
OTHER NEWS
==================

771102E FORMER PROVINCIAL FINANCE DIRECTOR DETAINED

Maputo, 16 Nov (AIM) - The Mozambican Attorney-General's Office
has ordered the detention of Jose Beirao, former director of
finance in the central province of Sofala, on charges of theft.

Few details of this case are yet available. Approached on
Friday by the Beira daily paper "Diario de Mocambique", assistant
attorney-general Isabel Rupia would only say that the case "is
complicated".

She said it was "not opportune" to reveal the amount of
money allegedly stolen, and would not say whether anybody else
was involved.

Rupia headed a team from the Attorney-General's office which
came to Beira specifically to investigate this case. "Diario de
Mocambique" ascertained that this team interrogated Jose Beirao
at length, after which he was immediately detained and taken to
Beira Central Prison.

After the detention, rumours spread in the city that Beirao
was being held in connection with the murder in July of the head
of the treasury department in Sofala, Josefa Afonso. She had
allegedly discovered a theft of eight billion meticais (about
336,000 US dollars) from the state coffers in the province.

But the director of public order and security in the
provincial police command, Leonardo Nhantumbo, assured reporters
that the Beirao case is separate from that of the murder of
Afonso. "The police are investigating the murder, while it is the
attorney-general's office that is dealing with Beirao", he said.

Shortly after the murder, the Beira police arrested seven
people, whose names have not been made public.

Interestingly enough, it was just a few days after Afonso's
death that Beirao was removed from his job as provincial finance
director. He was placed in the Central Regional Inspectorate of
the Finance Ministry, but was specifically forbidden from
inspecting the Sofala provincial treasury.
(AIM)
pf/ (292)

661102E YET AGAIN, ASSEMBLY FAILS TO ELECT CNE

Maputo, 14 Nov (AIM) - The Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of
the Republic, on Thursday once again failed to elect the National
Elections Commission (CNE), the body which must supervise the
municipal elections scheduled for 2003.

The CNE consists of 19 members - an independent chairperson
chosen from civil society, and 18 others elected by the Assembly
in proportion to the parliamentary seats held by each party. In
practice, this means that the ruling Frelimo Party appoints 10,
and the Renamo-Electoral Union opposition coalition appoints
eight.

But Renamo has run into problems with its candidates. One of
the people it has proposed, Jose de Castro, is ineligible for CNE
membership.

He is a member of the Renamo leadership (he is a party
department head, and sits on the Renamo Political Commission),
and, under an amendment to the law on the CNE which was proposed
by Renamo, and passed unanimously by the Assembly in September,
no member of a leading body of a political party may sit on the
CNE.

...

Mulembue then adjourned the Assembly plenary until 26
November. All next week will be used by the Assembly's working
commissions, drawing up their opinions on documents such as the
government's plan and budget for 2003.
(AIM)
pf/ (546)