Rui Pinto’s lawyers plan appeal over end of witness protection in Portugal
The Football Leaks source was told his special protection is due to end on 10 October. His lawyers want the decision reconsidered and the risk assessment disclosed.
Rui Pinto’s lawyers said on 2 October that they plan to appeal a decision to end his special protection in Portugal on 10 October, according to The Guardian. The decision concerns the Football Leaks source’s safety arrangements; his lawyers want the government to reconsider it and disclose the assessment behind it.
Pinto was notified of the decision on Wednesday, 30 September, The Guardian reported. Observador separately reported that the decision was unanimous among members of Portugal’s Special Security Programs Committee and followed a reassessment of his risk level by the intelligence services. The available reports do not set out the assessment’s conclusions.
What Rui Pinto’s lawyers plan to challenge
The lawyers intend to lodge an administrative appeal with suspensive effect, The Guardian reported. That describes the intended legal step and its stated effect while the decision is challenged. The report does not establish that the appeal has been filed or that Pinto’s protection has already been extended.
In a request to Portugal’s Ministry of Justice, the lawyers asked the government to reconsider the decision, disclose the material used for the latest risk assessment, give Pinto an opportunity to be heard and ensure that his protection continues, according to The Guardian. Those requests address both the assessment of his safety and the way the decision was made.
The lawyers say Pinto was not given an opportunity to be heard before the decision. They also say he remains at risk and that losing protection would leave him more vulnerable than at any point since 2020. The Guardian’s report presents those statements as the lawyers’ position; it does not include an account from the authority that made the decision.
The lawyers cited what they described as an assault on Pinto in Lisbon in April 2026 as part of their case that the risk is continuing. The circumstances of that alleged assault are not independently established in the available reporting. The lawyers also pointed to legal proceedings arising from his disclosures as a reason to maintain protection.
What the Portuguese protection decision covers
Observador reported on 30 September that Pinto has benefited from residence at a secret location since entering the programme in August 2020. It said that arrangement is due to end on 10 October. The outlet reported that SIC first broke the news and that Observador confirmed it independently.
The committee that made the decision was chaired by Orlando Romano, a former director of Portugal’s Judicial Police and a former national director of the PSP police force, according to Observador. Its report says the committee reached a unanimous decision after the intelligence services reassessed Pinto’s risk. It does not provide the underlying assessment or explain how the committee weighed any continuing threats.
Observador also said it was unclear, as of its 30 September report, whether Pinto would lose police protection. Ending the special programme therefore does not, on the available evidence, establish which other measures may continue after 10 October. That distinction matters when assessing what the decision will mean for his day-to-day safety.
Why Pinto has been in witness protection
Pinto entered Portugal’s witness protection programme in 2020. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists reported at the time that he had spent more than a year in a Lisbon jail following his 2019 arrest and had been released from custody pending trial. Its account placed his entry into the programme in that period, years before the current decision to end it.
ICIJ identified Pinto as the source of documents used in its Luanda Leaks investigation. It reported that he obtained more than 715,000 documents concerning the business activities of Isabel dos Santos and shared them with the Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa, which passed them to ICIJ. Pinto had also provided documents to journalists for the Football Leaks reporting, ICIJ said.
The Guardian reported that material from Pinto’s disclosures has been used by judicial, tax and sporting authorities across Europe, including in the Premier League’s investigation into Manchester City’s alleged financial irregularities. That is context for his lawyers’ argument about continuing risk. The decision now being challenged is Portugal’s decision about Pinto’s protection, rather than a decision in the Manchester City proceedings.
What happens before 10 October
For now, the established timetable is that the special protection programme is due to end on 10 October. The lawyers are seeking to keep it in place while contesting the decision, and Observador says the position on any separate police protection remains unclear. Those unresolved points will determine what practical protection Pinto has after that date.
Sources and context
- Manchester City lodge appeal as FA warns of major implications for integrity of game: football news – liveThe Guardian
- Hacker Rui Pinto vai sair do programa de proteção de testemunhasObservador
- Luanda Leaks whistleblower Rui Pinto is the ‘new Edward Snowden,’ claims lawyerInternational Consortium of Investigative Journalists
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.
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