National football player Dan da Mota is currently facing an indictment due to abuse of weakness, referred to as "abus de faiblesse" in the Luxembourgish legal system.
As confirmed by his lawyer, Roy Reding (who is also a Member of Parliament for the ADR), da Mota was presented to an examining magistrate on Wednesday.
Reding was fiercely critical of the fact that this information had been made public, suggesting that details concerning his client had been leaked by people inside the justice department.
A day later, state public prosecutor Martine Solovieff reacted to Reding's incendiary remarks, citing her astonishment at Reding's comments. She took the opportunity to reiterate that an indictment's main purpose is to collect all pertinent elements both for and against the defendant.
Indeed, Solovieff is outraged at Reding's suggestion that people within the justice department provide systematic information to the press.
Justification
She requested that Reding justify his statement and provide proof for his belief. If this were the case, Solovieff explained, it would be a clear breach of the confidentiality of investigations, which would lead to legal and disciplinary consequences.
In her reaction, she stressed the importance of the separation of powers as well as the important role the press plays in a democratic society.
As for the public prosecutor's office and its relations with the press, she explained that despite confidentiality, the public prosecutor's office is authorised to provide the press with information concerning trials. However, there is a caveat in that the press must respect the presumption of innocence, the right to defence, and the private sphere of the accused.
On the other hand, as per the basis of the European Human Rights Convention, it is the press's duty to share information and ideas that affect public order. Indeed, citizens have the right to receive such information through the press.
Solovieff, who addressed a letter to Reding, highlighted that she does not believe the leak came from the justice department and reminded him that the department does not have any interest in spreading information to the public in advance.
