From OCP News

Moraes’ illegal arrests show punished democracy

https://ocp.news/colunistas/prisoes-ilegais-de-moraes-mostram-democracia-castigada

Moraes’ illegal arrests show punished democracy

Columnists

^Per: Deltan Dallagnol

Wednesday, 06:00 – 01/10/2024

“We have an appointment with these long prisons that are determined in Curitiba”, said minister Gilmar Mendes, on February 7, 2017, during a trial of the Lava Jato operation at the Federal Supreme Court (STF). Seven years later, on January 8, 2024, at the Lulista party called “Unshaken Democracy”, not a word was heard from Minister Gilmar Mendes about the prolonged preventive arrests decreed by his STF colleague, Minister Alexandre de Moraes, against those being investigated. for the acts of January 8th.

One year later, 65 people are still in pre-trial detention without having been tried. Only 33 were reported by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), so there are at least 32 people imprisoned for a year without a report. In 18 years as a public prosecutor, I have not seen even major drug traffickers like Fernandinho Beira-Mar remain in prison for so long without being denounced. The same can be said of rapists, murderers, corrupt people, pedophiles and other highly dangerous traffickers.

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The maximum term of imprisonment without charges is one month and 10 days, which was strictly enforced at Lava Jato. In the cases of January 8, the deadline is being exceeded by more than 10 times, more than 1000%, which the law defines as a crime of abuse of authority. Furthermore, art. 312 of the Criminal Procedure Code requires that preventive detention only be ordered if there is, among other elements, proof of the existence of the crime and sufficient evidence of authorship. They are a necessary condition for imprisonment.

These two requirements are the same legal requirements – in this case, they are a necessary but also sufficient condition – for the presentation of a complaint, which is the formal accusation made by the Public Prosecutor’s Office so that someone can be tried for committing crimes. Therefore, if there are people arrested for a year without a complaint, it is because the Public Prosecutor’s Office did not find proof of the existence of the crime and evidence of authorship, which is a necessary condition for arrests. In other words, there is no basis for either the complaint or preventive detention, which demonstrates that these prolonged arrests of Alexandre de Moraes are absolutely illegal.

Contrary to what is happening now, Gilmar’s criticism of Lava Jato was empty, because preventive arrests were ordered in accordance with deadlines and legal requirements. In addition, priority was given to the trial of arrested defendants, so that in less than a year a sentence was already issued. All Lava Jato defendants and those under investigation also had ample opportunity to appeal to the other 3 instances of the Judiciary to have their arrest re-examined, a right that the January 8 defendants do not have.

In addition to having no one to turn to, as they are being judged by the STF, the last instance of the Judiciary – even without having a privileged forum – the January 8th defendants suffer from other abuses, such as the violation of natural justice, the absence of evidence and individualization of conduct, exaggerated penalties (even above that of homicides and those convicted in the Mensalão) and the judgment by the hands of judges who consider themselves victims of the crimes of the 8th of January, which should lead to the impeachment of these judges, if there were any respect for individual fundamental rights and due legal process.

What democracy is this that is being exalted, if one of its central purposes, the protection of fundamental rights, is eroded every day? The silence of Gilmar Mendes and the ministers and guarantor “jurists” about the STF’s judicial abuses says a lot: they are recurring proof that criticism of Lava Jato was never about protecting fundamental rights, but rather those in power.

And now we see January 8th being used by the system to guarantee the shielding and general impunity of the highly corrupt Brazilians, who now pose as “defenders” and “saviors” of democracy. Anyone who criticizes the system or its actors and seeks to improve it is easily labeled “anti-democratic”. Many of these corrupt people participated in the Lulista party on the 8th, that of so-called “unshaken democracy”. Or would it actually be democracy punished?