Fernando Madureira could be released in February | OneFootball

Of the ten convicted in the Operation Pretoriano case, resulting from the general assembly on November 13, 2023 – which marks two years this Thursday – Fernando Madureira was the only one to receive an actual prison sentence of 3 years and 9 months and is currently incarcerated. The verdict, read on July 31 of this year, imposed prison sentences on the remaining nine defendants ranging from 2 years and 7 months to 4 years and 1 month, but all were suspended.

Known as Macaco, the former leader of the Super Dragões has been deprived of freedom since January 31, 2024, when he was detained following the execution of the first detention and search warrants of Operation Pretoriano, later moving to preventive detention on February 7, as a coercive measure. This deprivation of freedom could have ended next December, but due to appeals filed in the case, it is very likely to extend until February 2026.

For judicial purposes, Fernando Madureira is currently serving preventive detention and not the 3 years and 9 months sentence imposed by the panel of judges at the São João Novo Court. This is because, after the first-instance decision was known, Macaco filed an appeal to the Court of Appeal.

This appeal suspended the final judgment of the verdict and, consequently, the possibility of requesting parole as of December 15. By that date, adding the time of preventive detention to the potential effective serving of the sentence – which will always be cumulatively accounted for in any final outcome of the case – two-thirds of the 3 years and 9 months sentence would have already been served, allowing for a parole request.

However, the preventive detention regime he is under, due to the appeal, does not allow for the granting of parole. There are, however, maximum durations for its length. The usual framework is one year and six months; in this case, as the crimes were framed under a violent crime regime, the maximum period was increased by six months, totaling two years. Thus, from February 7, 2026 – two years after the preventive detention was decreed during the instruction phase – Fernando Madureira may, barring new procedural occurrences, be released for having reached the maximum period.

In the current judicial context, Fernando Madureira's release before February 2026 will only be possible if the appeal filed in the Court of Appeal is upheld and replaces the first-instance verdict. In that case, the preventive detention would be revoked, although the Public Prosecutor's Office could then file an appeal seeking a new conviction.

This scenario is, however, unlikely in light of the current standards of appeal assessment in the Portuguese judicial system. If such a favorable decision were to occur in the coming weeks, it would hypothetically allow the former leader of the Super Dragões to attend the FC Porto general assembly, scheduled for the 22nd of this month, which will deliberate on his expulsion as a member – a situation similar to that of Sandra Madureira, Vítor Catão, and Vítor Aleixo (father).

There is also the possibility that Fernando Madureira's deprivation of freedom extends beyond February 2026. Parallel to Operation Pretoriano, and from the extraction of a certificate from this process, the Golden Ticket operation was triggered, investigating an alleged scheme of distribution and sale of FC Porto tickets over the past few years.

On May 11 of this year, several search warrants were executed, including at the Estádio do Dragão, culminating in the seizure of 4,000 tickets for various FC Porto games, more than 44,000 euros in cash, several documents, and technological material, as well as the constitution of 13 defendants, among them Catarina Madureira, one of Fernando Madureira's daughters. According to Record, the former leader of the Super Dragões is not yet listed as a defendant in this process. Should he become one and be decreed preventive detention as a coercive measure, the release horizon that Macaco faces may once again be postponed.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.