Defense of the trio accused of harassing Moraes questions the secrecy of the process

The lawyers responsible for defending the trio accused of harassing the minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Alexandre de Moraes, at Rome airport, filed an appeal against the decision of minister Dias Toffoli who kept the images of the confusion, recorded by the cameras, confidential from the airport.

As shown by People’s Gazetteat the beginning of October, Minister Dias Toffoli, from the STF, decided to remove the confidentiality of the investigation investigating the alleged attacks on the minister, but kept the images showing the confusion secret.

In reaction, the defense is now asking the Plenary of the Supreme Court to analyze the request for lawyers to have access to “a copy of the entire media sent by the Italian authorities, of the images from the camera circuit at Rome International Airport, obtained through the International Legal Cooperation”.

In an exclusive interview with People’s Gazettelawyer Ralph Tórtima, responsible for defending the trio (Roberto Mantovani Filho, Andreia Munarão and Alex Zanata) explained the content of the request.

“Minister Dias Toffoli in summary said: ‘Look, defense, I’ll let you come here to the registry office and watch. You will be able to see it, we will pass it on to you. I will pass it on to you, but I will not allow you to have a copy.’ Now, what they will show, whether it is all or partial content, I don’t know”, said Tórtima when confirming that she did not go to watch the filming.

“I cannot accept a notary’s office. I have to have a copy, I have to have the material at my disposal so I can interpret the images, I can hire a technical assistant specialized in this. So, I need to have the material available in full, I need a copy of it”, he added.

Toffoli’s justification for removing the secrecy of the investigation and keeping the images confidential was that the footage exposes “numerous people, including minors” who would have no relation to the case.

“The minister claimed that he is afraid to show why there are images of minors and third parties. But in the opinion of the Federal Police (PF) that they released, there are minors, third parties and parties. So, if the PF can disclose it, why couldn’t I? We appealed and this goes to the Full Court of the STF”, said Tórtima when highlighting the OAB’s reaction against the attack on defense prerogatives.

Without access to the full images used by the prosecution, the defense also appealed to the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB), which asked Minister Toffoli to overturn the secrecy.

When appealing to the OAB, the lawyer sent a report with the accused’s version of the confusion treated as an “anti-democratic act” and another series of allegations of irregularities in the approach and conduct of the case.

According to Tórtima, during the approach to landing in Brazil, the three accused were filmed and photographed by Federal Police agents, but they did not give permission for their images to be released. Despite the denial, on the same day as the confusion, their identities and photographs taken by Moraes were widely publicized.

The defense also warns that the three “were not informed of their constitutional right to remain silent, nor were they given the opportunity to call a lawyer, as guaranteed by the Federal Constitution”. The day after the confusion, the accused woke up to find the Federal Police at the door.