Ludmila Lins Grilo announces that she is in political asylum in the USA

Ludmila Lins Grilo, who was prevented from exercising her position as a judge and is the target of two proceedings at the National Council of Justice (CNJ) and an investigation at the Federal Supreme Court (STF), reported this Wednesday (3) that she is in ” political asylum in the United States” since 2022. She decided to keep her departure from the country a secret for more than a year and said she feels safe “in the land of freedom” because of the “dictatorship” that has taken hold in Brazil.

“I spent all this time reorganizing my life, and the time has come to reveal what happened. I am, officially, a Brazilian judge in political asylum in the United States”, wrote the judge in a personal blog.

Ludmila says that she was still working as a judge when she settled in the United States and that she completed the entire daily schedule of the criminal court, via videoconference. “I silently suffered all types of defamation regarding my professional conduct, as I still couldn’t reveal that I no longer lived in Brazil”, she explains.

Since 2022, the judge has been investigated by Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the STF, for political statements and criticism of the fake news investigation. In June 2022, she was subjected to disciplinary proceedings at the Court of Justice of Minas Gerais (TJ-MG) for condemning, on social media, what she called the “blind faith of Justice”, in allegations of rape, bodily harm and other crimes against women.

In February 2023, the CNJ decided to initiate two disciplinary proceedings against Ludmila and ordered her removal from her position as head of the Children and Youth Court of Unaí (MG). The following month, the TJ-MG decreed the judge’s compulsory retirement. Ludmila was accused of violating the magistrate’s duties, for allegedly adopting a procedure incompatible with the dignity, honor and decorum of her duties.

After all the “legal persecution”, she explains that she remained silent about the “condition of political asylum”, because she was documenting herself to settle in the United States. The judge told the People’s Gazette which will present to the American authorities and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights the entire “plot involving the persecutory acts carried out by the STF, more specifically by Alexandre de Moraes, as well as by the CNJ and TJMG”.

“Every social media account that is blocked, every STF attack, every lawfare, every threat, even if virtual, will be used in my processes in the USA, and will also be handed over to foreign media and justice professionals who are following my case” , he added.

In an interview with People’s Gazette, Ludmila said she “does not intend to return to Brazil” and regretted “the implementation of a dictatorship through the top of the Judiciary”. She also mentioned that “the chances are minimal” of a change in Brazil, but says that she maintains “hope through a miracle, and not through men.”

Upon remaining in the United States, she declared that she intends to “continue teaching students”, and that she is already “in interaction with jurists, journalists and politicians to expose Brazil’s situation abroad”.