Chamber needs to ratify Chiquinho Brazão’s arrest, but defense can contest

The arrest of federal deputy Chiquinho Brazão (União-RJ), which occurred on Sunday (24) on suspicion of involvement in the death of councilwoman Marielle Franco and driver Anderson Gomes, needs to be analyzed and ratified by the Chamber of Deputies due to the privileged forum that he holds. The consideration of the request by Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), takes place this Monday (25), with the expectation of a vote on Tuesday (26).

The Constitution provides, in the second paragraph of article 53, that deputies and senators “may not be arrested, except in the act of committing a non-bailable crime”. Even in this case, as follows from the constitutional text, the STF must, before issuing the arrest warrant, send the files, within twenty-four hours, “to the respective House, so that, by the vote of the majority of its members, it can decide on the prison”. The third paragraph of the same article guarantees the Legislative Branch the ability to suspend criminal proceedings (before arrest). Jurists consulted by People’s Gazette confirmed, on anonymity basis due to the sensitivity of the matter, that, due to these provisions, the legality of the arrest can be challenged by the deputy’s defense during Tuesday’s plenary session (26).

Moraes requested the preventive arrest of Chiquinho and his brother, Domingos Brazão, who is an advisor to the Court of Auditors of the State of Rio de Janeiro (TCE-RJ), due to their “economic power” and the influence they hold over other institutions of the authorities. , which could lead to obstruction of investigations.

“If they remain free, they will continue to obstruct the work of the Judiciary Police, taking advantage of the economic power they have and their contacts with illicit networks existing in the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro”, says Moraes in an excerpt from the decision that authorized the arrest of the brothers and police chief Rivaldo Barbosa (see in full).

He added that the arrest is necessary “in view of the guarantee of public order, convenience of criminal investigation and to ensure the application of criminal law”. Moraes’ letter to the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), was sent to the Chamber late in the morning.

On the other hand, according to jurists, Chiquinho Brazão’s defense can claim that the arrest could only be justified as “flagrant” in the case of a continued crime, that is, in progress, which would not correspond to a crime committed six years ago. . It is a similar issue to that of former deputy Daniel Silveira: Moraes justified the arrest of the then parliamentarian as necessary due to the fact that the video considered criminal, in which the parliamentarian criticized the Court, continues to be available on social media. The judge even cites the case in this weekend’s decision.

“It appears that Federal Deputy Daniel Lúcio da Silveira, by posting, commenting and continuing to allow the dissemination of the video, which remained available later that day on social media, was in permanent violation and, consequently, in the act crime, which allowed the consummation of his arrest in the act”, pointed out Moraes in the decision.

The decision to arrest Silveira for a published video, without consulting the Chamber of Deputies, was considered unconstitutional by jurists.

After analysis by the CCJ, the opinion will be sent directly to the Chamber plenary, where it will be voted on by the majority of parliamentarians, probably in this Tuesday’s session (26). During the session, the deputy’s defense will have three opportunities to speak out, each lasting 15 minutes: before the reading, after the reading and after the discussion. Voting will be open and will require an absolute majority quorum, with the resolution being promulgated in the same session.

The expectation is that the Chamber will rectify Brazão’s arrest in light of the evidence presented by the investigations. Parliamentarians are analyzing the case throughout this Monday (25), but the decision is not expected to take place this week, which will be shorter due to the Friday holiday (29).

The decision of União Brasil to expel him from the party on the same day of his arrest also counts against the deputy.

In addition to the arrests, the operation also carried out 12 search and seizure warrants, all in the city of Rio de Janeiro-RJ, as determined by the STF. Support for this action was provided by the State Secretariat of Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro and the National Secretariat of Penal Policies, of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security.

The action was carried out this Sunday (24) with the aim of surprising the targets, as information from Police intelligence indicated that they were on alert since the approval of Ronnie Lessa’s plea bargain by the STF.

Lessa, imprisoned since 2019 and accused of being one of the perpetrators of the crime, provided information about those who ordered the murder and the motivation behind it, as detailed in the agreement.