Africa-Press – Angola. The Angolan Bar Association (OAA) has initiated proceedings against lawyer David Mendes following the high-profile ’60 tons’ case. A source at the NJ confirms that the proceedings are ongoing and the outcome will be announced soon.
The Luanda Provincial Council of the Angolan Bar Association continues to work on concluding the disciplinary proceedings instituted against lawyer David Mendes, and the outcome may be known in the coming days.
A source from Novo Jornal at the OAA says that David Mendes continues to practice law while the disciplinary process continues following his statements regarding the high-profile ’60 tons of explosives’ case.
In the event of evidence, the source also confides, David Mendes will be suspended from practicing law and the case will be referred to the Luanda District Courts.
In statements to NJ, David Mendes confirms that he continues to practice law, having denied providing any information about the disciplinary process.
Called to analyze the matter, jurist Joveth de Sousa admits that there was a mistake on the part of lawyer David Mendes, for having brought information that was under judicial secrecy “with the aggravating factor of putting under ‘public judgment’ that his constituents had committed a crime, that they were only material perpetrators and that the moral perpetrators were being left out”.
Despite what happened, Joveth de Sousa doesn’t believe this process will result in major sanctions, as there are factors that work against corrective action. The lawyer cites David Mendes’s position in the class and the services he has provided to the OAA as examples.
For Salvador Freire dos Santos, David Mendes can continue to practice. The lawyer argues that the disciplinary proceedings instituted against his colleague do not require the withdrawal of his professional license, as they have not yet been concluded.
“Even if it were a criminal case, until it is finalized, he is innocent,” explains Salvador Freire.
The disciplinary proceedings arose after statements made by David Mendes during an interview with Rádio Correio da Kianda. The lawyer publicly commented on criminal case no. 82231/024, which implicated a group accused of allegedly planning acts of terrorism in Luanda.
At the same time, the Luanda Provincial Council of the OAA said that the lawyer’s statements violated essential professional duties, such as confidentiality, confidentiality, integrity, and trust – pillars of the Order’s Statute and the Code of Ethics and Deontology of the Angolan legal profession.
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