The president of IL today criticized the position of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice on the prosecutor’s search for the Judicial Police (PJ), arguing that “the Portuguese needed to know” what the Government is doing.
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25/09/2026
by
Lusa
Mariana Leitão spoke to journalists at the entrance of the rentrée of the Territorial Center of Lisbon da IL, after being questioned about the searches, by the prosecutor, to the premises of the PJ, on Wednesday, regarding a process that involves the current director of this police, Carlos Cabreiro.
The leader of IL said she did not want to comment on ongoing investigations, stressing that “the Public Prosecutor is doing his job”, but said she was amazed at what she considers to be “total and absolute silence by the Minister of Justice and even by the Prime Minister”.
Mariana Leitão argued that PJ is in the custody of the Ministry of Justice and that Minister Rita Alarcão Júdice must come “explain what is at stake” and also asked for clarifications from the government leader, Luís Montenegro.
Asked about the fact that the ruler with the guardianship of Justice has already expressed her trust in Carlos Cabreiro, the leader of IL said she expected a “stronger, firmer” position on the case.
“ At the moment we have the national director [of the PJ] to be investigated and the Minister of Justice merely says that it maintains trust in the person concerned. What is going on inside the Judiciary Police?”, he questioned.
Mariana Leitão considered that the Judiciary is an institution “deeply affected by a number of cases” over the past few months and argued that the Portuguese should also know what the Government is doing about this case.
“ I think the Portuguese needed to know what is going on inside the Judiciary Police, what the government is doing about it. It was important that these clarifications were given, both by the Minister of Justice and also by the Prime Minister. We are talking about the main criminal investigation police ", emphasized.
On Wednesday, the Prime Minister wished today that the searches carried out by the Public Prosecutor’s Office in the Judicial Police could contribute so that “the situation could quickly be clarified” and result in greater trust of society in the institutions.
On Thursday, the Minister of Justice stated that the prosecutor’s diligence “does not affect trust in the National Director of PJ”.
The MP conducted Wednesday searches in PJ related to the investigation that is taking place after a complaint of suspicion that the national director of PJ committed in court false statements and abuse of power in alleged wiretaps related to the “Football Leaks” case.