Portugal’s government has given Iraq until Friday to respond to the request, which was made on 25 August.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that in a note sent to it that arrived late on Thursday, Iraq assures Portugal’s government of “the readiness of the sons of the Iraqi ambassador in Lisbon to be heard at any time in the inquiry now underway” but that it was “still premature to take a decision with respect to the request of lifting [their] immunity.”
According to the ministry, the note also thanked the government for the information provided about Portugal’s legal system and rights, and said that Iraq “understands and entirely respects” the applicable legal proceedings and “reiterates the willingness to cooperate in fully establishing the facts.”
On 17 August, Rúben Cavaco was brutally attacked in Ponte de Sor in Portalegre district. The 17-year-old twin sons of the Iraqi ambassador, Saad Mohammed Ali, are suspects in the case, but are covered by diplomatic immunity.
Earlier on Friday, Portugal’s foreign minister Augusto Santos Silva told reporters that the Iraqi note would be sent to the public prosecutor in the case.