Jose Manuel Pinto, the head of Alex Saab’s defence team in Cape Verde, has been detained by the authorities.
Monteiro was detained while seeking entry to the house where Saab is currently being held under house arrest. Before his arrest, the Cape Verde based lawyer protested the roughness of the search carried out on him.
Saab was arrested and detained in Cape Verde based on the request of the Donald Trump led United States government over allegations of money laundering, a move the Venezuelan government faulted with claims that the businessman is its special envoy on a humanitarian mission.
However, checks by this paper revealed that this is not the first time Mr Saab’s legal counsel would be receiving similar treatment.
The Venezuelan government claimed that before his arrest, Saab had been on a mission to get food and medical supplies in Iran, stopping over in Cape Verde where he was arrested by security operatives.
Since his arrest, which has been termed illegal by the African Bar Association, members of his international legal team has been denied access to him on four occasions.
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In December last year, Cape Verde also authorities denied a world-renowned oncologist access to visit and examine Ambassador Saab.
Reacting to the detention of Monteiro, his law office, in a statement on Wednesday, condemned the actions of Cape Verde authorities.
“His arrest is unprecedented, and we are compelled to ask what purpose it could possibly serve. Such actions are damaging to the image of Cape Verde as a democratic society built upon a foundation of the respect of law and justice for all,” Monteiro’s law office wrote.
The office then urged the government to reconsider its position and stop its interference with the defense team of Ambassador Saab in its right to exercise its professional duties.
The office also called on the international community to denounce the undemocratic behaviour of the Cape Verdean authorities and issue a warning to prevent such incidents from taking place in a model democracy.