SERENA WYLDE - PORTUGAL
SUMMARY
Serena Wylde, a 59 year old businesswoman from Putney, is facing a possible
prison sentence in Portugal after making a complaint against a lawyer to the
profession’s regulatory body. Serena is due to stand trial in the Algarve on
charges of aggravated criminal defamation, which carries a sentence of up to 9
months in prison.
The charge relates to a letter Serena wrote to the solicitors’ regulatory body in
Portugal, the “Ordem dos Advogados”, calling for disciplinary action to be taken
against a lawyer who had been acting in a property dispute with her neighbour.
In the process of investigating the matter, the body forwarded the letter to the
prosecutor’s office who then began criminal proceedings against Ms Wylde for
aggravated defamation.
BACKGROUND
After her parents’ death, Serena inherited a house in Praia da Luz (the Algarve).
She has close connections with Portugal, has a Portuguese husband, speaks the
language and both of her parents are buried on the Algarve.
After a property dispute developed between Serena and her neighbour over the
erection of a gate on Serena’s property, both sides engaged Portuguese lawyers
to deal with the matter. It was not necessary to continue formal legal
proceedings in Portugal as Ms Wylde and her neighbour reached an amicable
solution.
The neighbours’ lawyer (Mr Pimenta de Almeida Borges), however, failed to
follow instructions given by his client’s family and continued legal proceedings
after he had been informed that a settlement had been reached. This caused
considerable anxiety for Serena and her neighbour.
Serena’s letter of complaint to the solicitors' regulatory body, stated that she
considered Mr de Almeida Borges to have acted in an improper and unscrupulous
manner and requested that his conduct be investigated.
In the process of investigating the complaint and before resolving the issue, the
regulatory body sent Serena’s letter to the prosecuting authorities in Portugal.
She heard nothing from the Ordem but in February 2007, two armed police
officers arrived at her home in Praia da Luz and told her to report to the office of
the security police.
Serena has been charged with aggravated criminal defamation under Article
180-1 and 184 of the Portuguese Criminal Code. This provides for more severe
sentences where the defamation is against certain public officials or lawyers. If
convicted, she could face a prison sentence of up to nine months imprisonment.
The lawyer against whom the complaint was made is the son of a former
Supreme Court judge and belongs to a prominent family in Portugal. Mr Pimenta
de Almeida Borges has written to the prosecutor in support of the prosecution of
Ms Wylde and to seek €50,000 in damages. In his correspondence to the
prosecutor he describes himself as “a well to do and cultured individual”,
referring to “the family from which he descends and to which he belongs” and
his “uninterrupted advocacy in the town of Lagos for 28 years.” In light of this
he claims:
“It’s difficult to fix a sum to indemnify the offence suffered by one who
exercises his profession with such honour, dignity and seriousness... Some
would say that one’s honour has no price... [I consider] adequate to restore the
damage suffered by the actions of [Ms Wylde] the payment of a 50,000 Euro
indemnity.”
An opinion from the civil rights solicitors, Hickman and Rose, says that Ms
Wylde’s rights under Article 10 of the European Convention, guaranteeing
freedom of expression, and Article 6, the right to a fair trial, have both been
breached and if she were to be convicted, she would have good grounds for
taking the case to the European Court of Human Rights.
The Portuguese lawyer (Francisco Teixeira da Mota), defending Serena, has said
“Unfortunately, we don’t have a significant tradition of freedom of expression in
Portugal. But as in other Mediterranean countries, we have a concept of honour
which is seriously outdated. This trial should never have happened and I hope
that we win it.”
Fair Trials International’s Concerns
(1)
FTI has worked with many excellent lawyers in Portugal and throughout
the world but we know that no profession should be unregulated. For people
facing criminal charges outside their own country, their choice of local lawyer
makes all the difference. A good lawyer can help to secure a just outcome;
while, frequently, a bad lawyer is the cause of miscarriages of justice.
(2)
The type of criminal action taken against Ms Wylde has the effect of
placing the legal profession in Portugal above reproach and outside of any
effective regulation.
(3)
Serena Wylde took the responsible route of making a complaint when she
encountered what she considered to be inappropriate actions by a lawyer. She
did this, not to further her own interests, but to seek to uphold the integrity of
the legal profession and to protect others from unprofessionalism. As a result
she is being put through a harrowing and completely unjustified ordeal.