Chamber decides to keep Chiquinho Brazão in prison

By 39 votes to 25, the Constitution, Justice and Citizenship Committee (CCJ) of the Chamber of Deputies approved this Wednesday afternoon (10) the maintenance of the arrest of deputy Chiquinho Brazão (no party-RJ). The final decision will be made by the plenary. An absolute majority of deputies must vote in favor (257 votes).

According to the president of the Chamber, deputy Arthur Lira (PP-AL), the prison opinion will be voted on this Wednesday.

Brazão is accused of being one of those behind the murder of Rio Janeiro councilwoman, Marielle Franco, in March 2018. At the time, the parliamentarian and driver Anderson Gomes were executed in Rio de Janeiro. Chiquinho Brazão has been detained since March 24th. After the arrest, the National executive of the União Brasil party unanimously approved the expulsion of the federal deputy from the party.

The collegiate approved the opinion of deputy Darci de Matos (PSD-SC), for maintaining the prison, after five hours of debates. The case was analyzed by the CCJ because, according to the 1988 Federal Constitution, deputies can only be arrested in the act for a non-bailable crime.

Darci de Matos recommended maintaining Brazão’s arrest based on the decision of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), which argued that detention was necessary due to the risk of Brazão obstructing justice. “The flagrancy results from the permanent and continued obstruction of Justice. And in a criminal organization, the crime becomes non-bailable.”

During the session, deputies, such as Erika Hilton (PSOL-SP); Erika Kokay (PT-DF), Célia Marielle Franco and driver Anderson Gomes.

Representative Talíria Petrone (PSOL-RJ) highlighted that the role of the Brazilian Parliament is to guard democracy.

“There was obstruction of justice when the cameras were turned off, when the car disappeared, when the deputies were systematically changed, when the head of the Civil Police [do RJ] by a political maneuver he was appointed, precisely, to prevent the crime from coming to an end. There was obstruction of justice when five people were murdered to keep from speaking out, including the one responsible for dismantling the car that led to Marielle Franco’s execution. There was obstruction of justice the entire time. Therefore, it is not past tense fact. It’s a continuous act and that’s where the act comes in,” defended the parliamentarian.

At the CCJ, deputy Chico Alencar (PSOL-RJ) said that the 543 pages that support Brazão’s arrest leave no doubt about the attempt to hinder the investigations. “Deputy Chiquinho de Brasão had his arrest decreed for good reason because he lived in a permanent state of red flagrancy, including plotting, through his mandates as a councilor, at the time of the crime of which he is accused of being the mastermind, after two mandates as federal deputies. , even in force now, plotting against the investigations, operating with its powerful network of contacts, so that the investigation would not progress.”

Representative Fausto Pinato (PP-SP) argued “that this is not the time for this House to act against the Federal Supreme Court. […] Here, we have to act with reason, it’s a human being, it’s a family that has been waiting for an answer for six years. I’m for prison maintenance, yes.”

Contraries

Representative Lafayette Andrada (Republicanos-MG) voted against the report, declaring preventive detention unconstitutional. “The Constitution was not obeyed, the procedural rites were not obeyed, mainly these two: that preventive detention is for concrete and current facts and not from six years ago and, above all, that preventive detention cannot be used to anticipate pity.”

Deputy Maurício Marcon (Podemos-ES) said that he is not at the CCJ to judge whether Brazão committed a crime or not, but whether his arrest is constitutional or not.

Coat of Arms Defense

Chiquinho Brazão’s defense lawyer, Cleber Lopes, questioned the act. “The Federal Police have been investigating for months. If the deputy had been in flagrante delicto, would the Federal Police have protected the parliamentarian and not arrested him in the act?”, he asked.

On the 26th, via videoconference at the CCJ meeting, Chiquinho Brazão, who was already in prison, said that he had a great relationship with councilor Marielle Franco, during his term at the Rio de Janeiro City Council. And that there was just a “simple disagreement of points of view” about the municipal bill that regulated irregular condominiums in the city of Rio de Janeiro.

Ethics Council

Earlier, the House Ethics Council initiated a process that could lead to the revocation of Chiquinho Brazão’s mandate.

*With information from Agência Brasil

Read more:

União Brasil expels deputy Brazão after arrest in Marielle case

Unanimously, STF maintains arrest of suspects in Marielle’s death

Marielle disturbed the criminal real estate expansion; understand why she was killed