In a decision placed on the court’s website, the judge Luiz Fux rejected the "embargo" presented by the defense of Duarte Lima under an "extraordinary appeal with grievance" to send the case to Portugal.

The Brazilian court accused the former parliamentary leader of the PSD of being involved in the murder of Rosalina Ribeiro, murdered in Brazil in 2009.

In recent years, the former PSD parliamentary leader has filed several appeals not to be tried in Portugal for aggravated murder, but these have been denied by various Brazilian courts.

Rosalina Ribeiro was a client of Duarte Lima and the lawyer is accused of having appropriated around €5 million from her.

Duarte Lima had already been acquitted of the crime of abuse of trust by appropriation of the fortune of Rosalina Ribeiro, but in June the Lisbon Court of Appeal annulled the decision and ordered the case to be heard by the Criminal Court of Lisbon for a new decision, scheduled for 23rd of this month.

Duarte Lima has been in prison since April after being sentenced to six years in prison for a scam related to the purchase of land in the municipality of Oeiras, district of Lisbon, for the construction of the Portuguese Institute of Oncology using a loan from now-defunct BPN Bank.