DPU recommends that Lula’s government annul acts by Damares on amnesty

The Federal Public Defender’s Office (DPU) recommended to the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship, this Friday (17), that the measures taken by former minister Damares Alves in the analysis of amnesty concessions related to the period of the military dictatorship be annulled. .

The DPU document suggests that all measures on the subject carried out by Damares from January to March 2019 be annulled. The former minister and now senator commanded the defunct Ministry of Women, Family and Human Rights under former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

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According to the federal public defender Guillermo Rojas de Cerqueira Cesar, the former minister would have issued the decisions without consulting the Amnesty Commission and also did not allow the oral manifestations of the applicants in the respective trial sessions.

The public defender also requested that the new Minister of Human Rights, Silvio Almeida, verify all decisions taken by the former minister after March 2019 to check whether the legal rites were complied with and, in case of illegality, the decisions be annulled.

In the previous government, the Ministry of Women, Family and Human Rights was responsible for analyzing claims for compensation made by people who say they were harmed by the military regime that was in force in Brazil from 1964 to 1985. The MMFDH established new rules for the progress of the administrative review processes of the amnesty requests that were in progress. In this way, the ministry refused part of the compensation claims, and also questioned previous decisions. The previous government considered that in many cases it was not configured that there was, in fact, political persecution.

The new portfolio holder, Silvio Almeida, has already said that this and other issues would be changed during the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). The statement was made at the inauguration ceremony at the ministry, on January 3, in Brasília.

The new government also recomposed the Amnesty Commission. The ordinance defining the 16 new members was published in the Official Gazette (DOU) in January. According to the folder, those chosen have “technical experience, especially in dealing with the theme of integral reparation, memory and truth”.

In another part of the document, the DPU stated that, if the recommendation is not met, it may file a lawsuit. “In the event of rejection of the recommendation, the DPU requires that the reasons be duly explained, so that they may eventually be questioned in court”.

The report asked for the positions of Senator Damares Alves, former Minister of Women, Family and Human Rights, on the recommendation of the DPU and awaits the return. Likewise, the current Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship was also contacted. If placements are submitted, the story will be updated.