Ministry annuls decision to end police protection for hacker Rui Pinto

Ministry reverses decision

Portugal's Ministry of Justice has annulled a decision that would have ended police protection for Rui Pinto, the hacker also named Rui Pedro Gonçalves Pinto. The Special Security Programmes Commission (CPES) met with Justice Minister Rita Alarcão Júdice on Thursday 8 October and declared the decision void. The ministry announced the outcome on Friday 9 October, saying Pinto keeps witness status 'until a new decision' is taken.

Procedural defect

The commission found that Pinto had not been duly notified of the grounds for ending the programme and had not been given the chance to exercise his right to respond. The ministry's statement said:

The CPES found that the beneficiary was not duly notified of the grounds for the decision to end the programme, nor was he ensured the information and the possibility to exercise the right to adversarial proceedings, under the terms set out in the Witness Protection Law.

The commission declared void the 22 September 2026 decision, the procedure that followed it, and the notification sent on 30 September 2026. Pinto's defence had already criticised the process and had announced an appeal. It had also formally asked the ministry to reassess the measure.

Timeline

The sequence starts with the commission's 22 September decision to end the programme and the 30 September notification. The commission met the minister on 8 October, and the ministry announced the reversal on 9 October.

What happens next

Pinto is to receive a new notification together with the risk reassessment report and the relevant elements of the minutes of the commission's meetings. He then has ten working days to state his position on the substance and grounds of the decision. Only after that procedure, and after any submission he makes is considered, will a new decision be taken on keeping or closing the special security programme.