New STM president defends pacification in the country

The new president of the Superior Military Court (STM), Lieutenant-Brigadier Francisco Joseli Parente Camelo, took office this Thursday afternoon (16), in a formal session attended by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), ministers of the STF and other authorities.

In the speech, he pointed out that President Lula’s great difficulty will be “to pacify and consolidate democracy in our country”. “The Armed Forces will contribute towards harmony and pacification. We are all under the authority of President Lula. He has this task of pacification. It will not be easy, but he has the capacity for it”, declared the minister in a press conference, after the inauguration ceremony.

Lieutenant Camelo also said that he agrees with the Lula government’s (PT) proposal to prevent military personnel who run for election or hold government positions from returning to active duty. The measure has been articulated by the Ministry of Defense to “depoliticize” the Armed Forces.

Regarding the trial of the military involved in the acts of January 8, at the Federal Supreme Court, the lieutenant stated that at “no time” did the Court invade the jurisdiction of military justice.

“At no time did Minister Alexandre de Moraes invade our competence. The Military Justice judges crimes against property that are under our custody or specific situations that involve military activity, which is not the case. We have two actions in the first instance , one against a general who spoke very badly of the Army,” he said.

The STM is the highest body of Military Justice in the country, responsible for prosecuting and judging military crimes provided for in the Military Penal Code. The collegiate is composed of 15 ministers, ten of whom are active military personnel from the Army, Navy and Air Force, and five civilians of notorious legal knowledge. All of them are appointed by the President of the Republic and confirmed by the Federal Senate.

Profile

Francisco Joseli Parente Camelo is 69 years old, was born in Fortaleza (CE) and has been a minister since May 2015. At the STM, he participated in important Court judgments, was a member of the Working Group for the development of studies aimed at improving Military Justice in the areas federal and state and was director of the National School for Training and Improvement of Federal Military Justice Magistrates (Enajum), in the 2020/2021 biennium.