The presidents of the Aljezur City Council and Municipal Assembly, José Amarelinho and Manuel Marreiros, announced today that they will appeal the sentence of the Judicial Court of Lagos, which on Friday sentenced them to suspended prison sentences and loss of mandate, in the case of Vale da Telha.
In a communiqué signed by both, the two mayors express themselves "profoundly convinced that we have not committed any criminally objectionable act in that urban area, as well as for the simple reason that it is not possible to understand, in our modest opinion, the fact or facts that led to the so severe and unusual condemnation».
The mayors also announce that, after having reflected and consulted other people and entities, and contrary to what was their initial intention when they learned of the conviction, they will not suspend their mandates or resign.
José Amarelinho, current president of the municipality and who, at the time of the facts, was a councilor, was sentenced for the crime of malfeasance to 3 years and 2 months in prison, with suspended sentence, upon payment of five thousand euros to the League for the Protection of Nature (LPN), and loss of mandate, as soon as the case becomes final.
Manuel Marreiros, who was then the mayor and now presides over the Municipal Assembly, was sentenced for the crime of malfeasance to 4 years and 3 months in prison, with a suspended sentence, upon payment of five thousand euros to the Almargem association and loss of mandate , as soon as the case becomes final.
As they point out in their statement, the Collective Court considered the crime of malfeasance to be proven, "supposedly, we understand, in the licensing of work or works (?) in Vale da Telha."
The mayors say that they still do not understand "the reason for this condemnation, especially since we were neither tried nor condemned for having taken any advantage of our decisions!"
On the other hand, they point out, "it is our understanding that this conviction penalizes because we have always legally decided in favor of what was best for the municipality of Aljezur, for the citizens, all citizens and owners in Vale da Telha."
«Without wanting to minutely weave any other comments or judgments that by right we are assisted and despite the setback we are faced with, we conclude that it is increasingly important to fight for the public cause, for the rights of citizens and citizens, particularly at the level of the Democratic Local Government, even though sometimes, as is the case, we may think that “it's not worth it” and discouragement and the desire to move away, take hold of us!”
Therefore, they say, "after careful reflection, after consulting the political force that elected us [the PS], the respective executives in office, in view of the massive wave of solidarity that has been generated around this situation and that is outraging the general population , but above all for the responsibility we hold in carrying out the Urban Requalification of Vale da Telha which we hope to complete by the end of the term, and respect for those who overwhelmingly voted for us and for all others who have not done so know of our integrity as men and politicians, in short, for all Aljezurenses, we will not suspend our mandates or resign, as was initially our first decision and will».
"We will fight until the end for the recognition of our innocence, restoration of our honorability and good name that we know untouchable by the Aljezurenses, but seriously challenged by such a violent, inexplicable and unfair judicial decision", they conclude.
This process is related to the licensing of constructions in the Vale da Telha urbanization, in the 90s, launched years before by the Somundi company, owned by businessman Sousa Cintra.
The case is the result of a complaint filed by a member of the Vale da Telha Owners Committee – “It proves” – by the fact that the two mayors of the Aljezur City Council had allegedly “banned the construction of lots in the urbanization for the purpose of real estate speculation”.
Comprova denounced, in 2010, that «the investigations conducted by the DIAP of Évora revealed that, under the direction of the defendants, the Municipality of Aljezur unlawfully banned the construction of lots in the urbanization of Vale da Telha for the purposes of real estate speculation in partnership with certain construction firms and real estate agencies”, but the mayors have always denied this assertion.
The accusation, which from the beginning was considered very vague and poorly substantiated by the defense of the mayors, in fact pointed to the existence of a set of lots in Vale da Telha, in which construction was not allowed, but where it became years later, thus implying that Manuel Mareiros, then president of the Chamber, would have favored someone.
In early January of this year, in the first session of the trial, Manuel Marreiros, quoted by Diário de Notícias, sought to dismantle the accusation, claiming that the central administration had committed "mistakes" in the process of urbanization in Vale da Telha.
“Only after eight years, the National Institute for Nature Conservation delivered to the Municipality of Aljezur a feasibility study for the urbanization, which it had committed to carry out in six months. And just two years later, we had the first meeting, which is weird. We were waiting”, he recalled.
The Municipal Master Plan of Aljezur, approved in 1995, in line with the Plan for the Natural Park of Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina, then contemplating Vale da Telha as an urban area, helped to clarify the situation. «It was an effort to invest in Vale da Telha», stressed the mayor.
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