Cape Verde's Attorney General says Alex Saab case could have political consequences

Luís José Landim, the Attorney General (PGR) of the Republic of Cape Verde has said there could be political implications in the Alex Saab case, multiple news portals have reported.

The PGR is said to have made the disclosure during an interview with pressmen earlier this week after a meeting with President Jorge Fonseca.

Cape Verde online newspaper, Noticiasdonorte that was among the pressmen making inquiry on the case quotes PGR Landim to have said, “From the beginning, we have always said that we apply the laws of Cape Verde and the Constitution of the Republic, and not laws that one wants to impose from outside."

PGR Landim added that, "we apply what we understand to be applicable law. Other consequences will be political, perhaps, but it is no longer up to me to answer that question. If there are other consequences, I'm sure the State will know how to react because I believe we are acting well."

The Attorney General is the main person at the center of the Alex Saab case concerning whether or not he should be extradited. 

Meanwhile, José Manuel Pinto Monteiro, a lead lawyer for Mr. Saab in Cape Verde in reaction to the Attorney General's comment said  it is an admission that the extradition process of Alex Saab to the United States is based exclusively on political assumptions.

“The observations of the PGR, today, are clear and unequivocal proof of the political nature of Cape Verde's intervention in this matter... It was the executive [Government] and not the courts that decided to arrest [Alex Saab], it was the executive and not the courts that delayed the release on June 25, 2020, when INTERPOL cancelled the Red Alert for its American friends could issue the extradition request, and it is the executive, as the Supreme Court of Justice itself indicated, that must decide the final fate of Alex Saab.”

He further urged Luís José Landim to take the chance to remedy the situation to protect the image of Cape Verde. 

Alex Saab has been in the custody of Cape Verdean authorities since June 2020. 

He was arrest while on his way to Iran on a mission for Venezuela. 

The US wants him extradited to face charges of corruption on American soil but his legal team has been aggressively fighting it. 

The ECOWAS court in March 2021 ruled that all extradition processes be ceased and Mr. Saab compensated $200,000 by Cape Verde but barely 24 hours later, Cape Verde's court delivered a counter ruling approving his extradition. 

Alex Saab's lawyers have appealed that ruling.