"It is due to a set of reasons. But I would mention, in summary, his boldness, his courage to denounce excesses, whether they are from political power, the judiciary, personalities or institutions, with more or less power, with the capacity for intimidation", said lawyer Agostinha Pereira de Miranda.

Thus, the awarding of the prize is also "a way for ProPública to pay homage to the courage of Portuguese lawyers", he stressed. At a time when "they have been the object of an erosion and even suppression of rights, guarantees and immunities", he recalled, referring to the amendments to the statute of the Portuguese Bar Association, which came into force on April 1.

A scenario in which Garcia Pereira has been the person who, in "the most direct and effective way", has criticized "this assault", denounced internationally, "on the rights of lawyers and their independence", he considered.

What is happening, he explained, "is that, since April 1, due to the amendments to the statute of the Portuguese Bar Association, it now has a Supervisory Board that is made up of "60% non-lawyers"

"This means that the control and supervision of the professional activity of lawyers is now exercised by non-lawyers", when this does not happen in the Superior Council of the Judiciary or in the Superior Council of the Public Prosecution Service.

In his opinion, with the amendment, "an artificial situation was created in which lawyers may fear the consequences of their initiatives and eventually not represent their clients, namely against the State", which is why the fight to change those measures is one of the priorities of the association he chairs.

"[ProPública] is a small association that is often ignored by those who should remember us, such as the Portuguese Bar Association. But our first priority is to defend the professional status recognized to lawyers for almost a century", assumed Agostinho Pereira de Miranda in an interview with Lusa regarding the awarding of the Nelson Mandela Prize.

For now, the association awaits "a position from the new Government", but already has as "a worrying sign" the fact that the program of the new Government says nothing about lawyers. "If this line of action of ignoring this fight by lawyers continues, it is evident that we will have to resort to other means", he admitted.

The leader and founder of ProPública also highlighted the fact that the winner of this year's prize was the lawyer who "most vehemently denounced the scandalous illegality of the requirement for prior appointments for service in public services (...), particularly harmful to the most vulnerable, migrants, the elderly, the poor" and "so serious that it was, in fact, the object of a report published in February by the Ombudsman, which fully supports this cause".

Finally, he highlighted the work that Garcia Pereira does 'pro bono' and in defense of situations in which the actions of powerful groups are at stake, including State bodies, usually due to violations of labor laws.

The prize, with a monetary value of ten thousand euros, will be awarded to Garcia Pereira on July 18, on Nelson Mandela International Day, the date that marks the birth of the lawyer and former South African leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1993, who fought and ended the apartheid regime in his country.

In the three previous editions of the Nelson Mandela Prize, the lawyers Francisco Teixeira da Mota (2021), Leonor Caldeira (2022) and Maria Clotilde Almeida and Paula Penha Gonçalves 'ex aequo' (2023) were distinguished.

Established in 2020, the private association ProPública aims to legally defend the public interest.

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