The case of a British business woman who faced imprisonment for complaining about a lawyer in the Algarve has been dropped.
Serena Wylde faced a possible prison sentence in Portugal after making a confidential complaint against a lawyer to Portugal’s legal regulator.
Serena was charged with aggravated criminal defamation which can carry a sentence of up to nine months’ imprisonment “in violation of her right to peaceful free speech”, said human rights organisation Fair Trials International.
According to Fair Trials International, “in an unexpected development, the court decided on November 29, 2011 that too much time has passed for the prosecution to proceed. The case against her has been dropped.”
Fair Trials International first highlighted Serena’s case in December 2009. The Algarve Resident also reported widely on the case (see issues January 27, 2011, December 17, 2009 and December 10, 2009).
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