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Lisbon appeal court rejects bid to release Socrates

Xinhua, March 18, 2015 Adjust font size:

Portugal's appeal court rejected an appeal against the imprisonment of ex-Prime Minister Jose Socrates on Tuesday, local media reported.

The appeal court determined that Socrates will stay in Evora prison, with President of the Appeal Court Luis Vaz das Neves pointing out that Socrates is "strongly indicted for his crimes of tax evasion, corruption and money laundering, contrary to what his defender claimed in the appeal."

Socrates, who was detained in November on corruption, money laundering and tax fraud charges, has argued that his detention was unfounded, with Socrates' lawyer, Joao Araujo, describing the judge's ruling as an "unfair decision." The supreme court rejected his request to be freed in December, due to a "lack of legal foundation."

The detention of the 57-year-old, who governed from 2005 to 2011, took the country by surprise and it is the first time a former prime minister has been detained under democracy.

The Socialists lost power in 2011 and Socrates left politics when the country found itself plunged into a debt crisis and was forced to request a 78-billion-euro bailout. He moved to Paris to study Philosophy at Sciences Po University, where he has been accused of living a lavish lifestyle. Endit