The decision came after public prosecutors, investigating allegations of money laundering, fraud and corruption, made the public recommendation that José Sócrates be transferred to house arrest equipped with an electronic ankle tag.
But the former prime minister assumed an all or nothing position prior to Tuesday’s ruling, saying in a statement that he would only accept an unconditional release.
This led to prosecutors revising their proposal, telling Judge Carlos Alexandre that the former prime minister should be remanded in custody pending further investigation.
According to Portuguese law, prisoners held without charge, but who pose a flight risk or threaten ongoing inquiries, should be able to challenge their imprisonment every three months.
Upon leaving the Évora prison facility, especially designed to house notable detainees, Sócrates’s lawyers hit out at the ruling.
“We denounce this procedure as it is petty revenge”, with counsel for the defence, João Araújo, accusing the presiding judge and prosecutor of trying to “break” his client.
José Sócrates has also since revealed that he has advised his lawyers to appeal the decision and any other which “implies a restriction to freedom”.
In justifying requesting that Sócrates be remanded in custody, the Public Prosecutor’s office said that based on the current phase of the investigation “there is a significant danger of interference into the ongoing inquiry”, adding that “the risk of flight, even though small, remains a consideration.”
Since his arrest, José Sócrates has made several statements in the press denying the crimes of which he is suspected, and been visited by prominent figures from his Socialist Party, which is currently in opposition.
The former prime minister has consistently lamented the fact that he remains in the dark as to the exact allegations being investigated by prosecutors amid tabloid newspaper reports quoting unnamed sources, revealing a host of fraudulent activities while he served as Environment Minister and later as Prime Minister.
The next hearing to consider a change in his current legal status is set for September, only a few weeks before the general elections. Opinion polls indicate they will be won by the Socialist Party, though with the strong possibility of not achieving an overall majority with which to govern the country unaided by opposition parties.