The President's son testifies in Parliament

But refused to answer any questions about the €4 million treatment that two children born and living in Brazil received following his request for help for them to his father

On Wednesday, the son of the President of the Republic, Nuno Rebelo de Sousa, finally took part, via videoconference, the Parliamentary Inquiry Comission (CPI) into the case of the twins treated at Santa Maria Hospital in Lisbon via videoconference.

However, he refused to give any explanations and didn't answer any of the questions put to him by the MPs.

“My silence in this committee is complete, because that was the professional advice I received and follow,” said the son of President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

Faced with questions from MPs from the various parties, he simply replied in turn: “For the reasons mentioned, I won't answer.”

He pointed out that he was made a defendant in a case whose purpose coincides with that of this committee of enquiry.

The son of the President of the Republic justified his silence with Portuguese legislation, the Constitution and also the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

“Any and all admissible questions can only concern the subject of the criminal case,” he said, thus avoiding answering any questions.

Nuno Rebelo de Sousa said that he had been informed that the investigation is “a matter of judicial secrecy” and reiterated that he authorises the committee of enquiry to have access to the explanations he has given to the Public Prosecutor's Office, if this is permitted by the courts.

The son of the President of the Republic only replied when MP João Almeida asked him to identify himself and state his professional activity. He indicated that he is a director of EDP Brasil, a company he has worked for since 2011, and that he lives in São Paulo, Brazil, where he has been for 15 years.

Nuno Rebelo de Sousa also said that he had “no other professional activity”.

Case recap

The ‘Brazilian twins controversy’ was initially broken last November – shortly before Operation Influencer blew up, toppling the Socialist government under António Costa - when TVI/CNN Portugal revealed that two twin children living in Brazil had acquired Portuguese nationality and received the drug Zolgensma at the Santa Maria Hospital in Lisbon, back in 2020.

At a cost of two million euros per person, this drug aims to control the spread of spinal muscular atrophy, a neurodegenerative disease, and is said to be the most expensive medicine in the world.

The suspicions of favouritism arose from an email message sent by Nuno Rebelo de Sousa to his father, talking about the matter.

President Marcelo has publicly disassociated himself from the case. He recently told international journalists that he had cut relations with his son, and “doesn’t care if he is held responsible”.

The case is still being investigated by the Attorney General's Office and the General Inspection of Health Activities has already concluded that access to neuropediatric consultation for these children was illegal.

The recording of the session (in portuguese) can be watched here.