AGU asks for lawsuit, fine of BRL 100 thousand and banishment of Wallace

The Advocacy General of the Union (AGU) asked the Ethics Council of the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) and the Brazilian Volleyball Confederation (CBV) to filing of lawsuits against Olympic volleyball champion Wallace.

In addition, the AGU, in an official note [confira a íntegra no final do texto]asks for the maximum penalty provided for, with a fine of R$ 100,000 and banishment of the player from the sport.

The experienced athlete became a target after a post on social networks in which he made a poll about shooting the President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The COB has already announced the request for the opening of the process in its Council of Ethics, while the CBV forwarded the case to the Superior Court of Sports Justice (STJD) of the entity that governs volleyball in the country.

According to the AG, Wallace’s conduct constitutes the offense of incitement to crimeprovided for in article 286 of the Brazilian Penal Code, and that the player’s posting would not be protected by the right to freedom of expression.

Wallace has been suspended from Cruzeiro for an indefinite period.

After the controversy, Cruzeiro, Wallace’s club, had already announced the player’s removal indefinitely and the requirement that Wallace present an apology. He said he had no intention of “inciting violence”.

Also on Tuesday, the Minister of the Secretariat for Social Communication, Paulo Pimenta, said, also via social media, that he called the Attorney General’s Office (AGU) to take action on Wallace’s post. “We will not tolerate threats made by extremists and scammers!” Pimenta wrote.

Wallace declared his vote for the defeated candidate, Jair Bolsonaro, in the last election. “For Brazil, Jair Messias Bolsonaro 22”, he wrote on the day of the second round of voting.

After Bolsonaro’s defeat at the polls, Wallace posted a photo with President Lula and the message: “Crime in Brazil pays”. In the caption, he added: “Really, Brazil is not for amateurs. Ps: enjoy now before censorship starts”.

Check out the official AGU note in full about the Wallace case:

“The Advocacy General of the Union (AGU) presented representations in disfavor of the volleyball player Wallace Leandro de Souza to the Ethics Council of the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) and the Brazilian Volleyball Confederation (CBV). , the athlete promoted a poll asking if anyone would “shoot in the face” the President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

In the representation addressed to the COB, the AGU points out the violation of article 243-D (public incitement to hatred or violence) of the Brazilian Code of Sports Justice, and articles 8 and 34 of the Code of Ethical Conduct of the COB, respectively the misuse of discriminatory expressions and incitement to acts of violence through social networks.

As a consequence, the AGU requests the Council to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the athlete, and to apply the maximum penalties provided for in both codes: a fine of R$ 100,000 and banishment from Olympic sport.

In the representation, the AGU also argues that Wallace’s conduct constitutes the crime of incitement to crime (art. 286 of the Brazilian Penal Code), and that the manifestation of hatred carried out by the player in his social network is not protected by the right to freedom of expression. expression, “since no one is authorized to commit a crime invoking this fundamental freedom”. The Union’s lawyers who subscribe to the document also require the COB to authorize the AGU to act as an interested third party in the process initiated by the Committee to investigate the athlete’s conduct.

For the same reasons contained in the document forwarded to the COB, the AGU also presented another representation in disfavor of the player to the CBV. In the latter case, the Attorney General’s Office also requests the initiation of disciplinary proceedings to investigate Wallace’s conduct.

In the play, AGU maintains that Wallace violated art. 43 of the entity’s Code of Ethics and Discipline, which establishes the duty of athletes to “reject with energy” violent manifestations arising from political preference, both in sports and outside it. And also article 243-D (public incitement to hatred or violence) of the Brazilian Code of Sports Justice.

The AGU requires the CBV to apply the maximum penalties provided for in the governing rules, that is, the adoption of written censorship, fine and suspension”.