“In the case of Rui Pinto, I am shocked that, given the obvious public interest of the information he disclosed, it has not aroused the interest of Portuguese authorities,” said Gomes during a conference on “The new regime of protection of whistle-blowers”, promoted by Lusa News Agency in Lisbon.


Gomes said that, unlike what happens in Portugal, the information was valued by public opinion and by journalists from around the world, and by authorities of other European countries, insisting that in Portugal, “noboby has set out to talk to him [Rui Pinto] and ask him to cooperate,” although they knew his whereabouts and that he was living in Hungary.


She used the example of French, Belgian, Swiss and Dutch authorities that went to Pinto and asked for his help in investigating various cases related to corruption in football, reinforcing that it is unacceptable that this does not happen in Portugal.


According to her, various scandals which began to emerge after the financial crisis of 2008, which were released by whistleblowers, were based on the work of community institutions to strengthen the regime for the protection of whistleblowers.


The lawyer José António Barreira, who also attended the conference, said that nowadays there is a “mental framework to be reconfigured for everyone: whistleblowers, authorities and journalists.”


He pointed out: “We are here on the side of the bargain with the bandits. Yes, to catch the bigger bandits. Yes, he is a bandit. But now, technically, he is not. This is a problem.”


Journalist António Tadeia spoke on the release of information obtained by the hackers, saying he is in favour of journalists passing these revelations to public opinion, given their professional obligations, and alerting to the danger of them being spread by other means.


Gomes also focused on the “dimension of new technologies that today allow us to reach the information that otherwise could not be reached,” stressing the “vulnerabilities” linked to new technologies.


Pinto, a Portuguese national, was extradited to Portugal from Hungary on 21 March, having been detained there on the basis of a European arrest warrant issued by Portugal’s Central Department of Criminal Investigation and Action (DCIAP).


The grounds for the warrant were his alleged illegal entry into the computer systems of Lisbon football club Sporting and the investment fund Doyen Sports, and the subsequent disclosure of confidential documents, including the contracts of Sporting players and of then-coach Jorge Jesus, as well as other contracts signed between Doyen and several clubs.