Portuguese prosecutors indict Lacerda Sales and uncover deleted records in twins case

Judicial charges and deleted communications

Portuguese public prosecutors have formally charged former Deputy Secretary of State for Health António Lacerda Sales, Nuno Rebelo de Sousa, and former Santa Maria Hospital clinical director Luís Pinheiro with prevarication and abuse of power. The mother of the twin sisters, Daniela Martins, was simultaneously indicted for aggravated fraud. The proceedings stem from the 2020 treatment of Luso-Brazilian twin sisters with the spinal muscular atrophy medication Zolgensma in Lisbon. Judicial Police investigators established that Lacerda Sales attempted to erase his digital footprint by deleting WhatsApp conversation records with Nuno Rebelo de Sousa, the son of former President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, along with messages exchanged with his chief of staff and personal secretary. Forensic specialists later reconstructed the communication history through data stored on Pinheiro's mobile device. Legal representatives for Lacerda Sales responded that the findings in the inquiry remain inconclusive and subject to alternative interpretations.

Network of political requests to Santa Maria

Case documents demonstrate that Lacerda Sales regularly forwarded requests from political figures and public personalities to Pinheiro at Hospital de Santa Maria. The messages concerned clinical status updates, patient transfers, and institutional hiring at Portugal's largest medical center. Records show former parliamentary affairs minister Ana Catarina Mendes requested a status check on a patient admitted overnight, while parliamentary deputy Edite Estrela asked about an individual awaiting transfer to intensive care. Another forwarded request came from the Spiritan Missionaries, who sought a formal employment contract for an Angolan plastic surgeon working on temporary green receipts in the hospital burn unit. Television presenter Rita Ferro Rodrigues contacted Lacerda Sales in 2022 to request the transfer of a terminally ill friend to palliative care at the Portuguese Oncology Institute. Pinheiro routinely responded to the forwarded requests within minutes, continuing to answer inquiries from Lacerda Sales even while away on vacation.

I apologize for disturbing. We only want decent palliative care. This dehumanization is unthinkable. We only want to ensure she dies accompanied and in a hospital environment.

Defense statements and mobility device accusations

Daniela Martins faces charges of aggravated fraud centered on requests for specialized wheelchairs and mobility devices funded by the National Health Service rather than access to the drug itself. In an interview with RTP, Martins denied receiving unauthorized benefits, stating that all mobility requests were submitted by medical doctors based on clinical need. Investigators examined funds transferred through her private accounts, which Martins clarified originated from a fundraising campaign conducted in Brazil prior to moving to Portugal rather than regular personal income. Nuno Rebelo de Sousa had repeatedly messaged Lacerda Sales inquiring whether there was any position to share with the parents as they waited for treatment approval, noting that time was passing.

Everything I could obtain that was the girls' right through the government, I asked for, I went after, I showed the documents, and what was granted to me was entirely backed by the documents I presented.