Brief
Portuguese authorities keep Manchester City whistleblower Rui Pinto under police protection
Portugal's Ministry of Justice said the protection measures for Rui Pinto will stay in place pending a new decision.
By Felo News Desk · Published
Al Jazeera reported that Portuguese authorities will keep computer hacker Rui Pinto under police protection beyond the original deadline of 10 October, after his lawyers highlighted procedural flaws and ongoing threats.
The Ministry of Justice said the earlier resolution was nullified because Pinto had not been "duly informed of the reasons for the decision" nor given a chance to challenge it. His lawyers last week denounced irregularities in the process and pointed to a physical assault he suffered in Lisbon in April, as well as multiple death threats that forced him to move to a secret location.
Pinto, the founder of the Football Leaks website that supplied documents leading to a Premier League probe of Manchester City, has been a protected witness since 2020 after agreeing to grant authorities access to millions of files. He was arrested in Hungary in January 2019, extradited to Portugal, and sentenced in September 2023 to a suspended four‑year term for attempted extortion, illegal data access and breach of correspondence.
Key facts
- Portuguese authorities extended police protection for Rui Pinto beyond 10 October (aljazeera.com)
- The extension follows a court ruling that Pinto was not properly informed of the original decision (aljazeera.com)
- Pinto's lawyers cited an assault in Lisbon and multiple death threats as reasons for continued protection (aljazeera.com)
- Pinto has been a protected witness since 2020 after providing Football Leaks data to investigators (aljazeera.com)
Sources
- [1] aljazeera.com — originally reported as “Manchester City whistleblower Rui Pinto to remain under police protection”
