Pastor arrested in 8/1 could be sentenced to 14 years

“I went to Congress on a prayer march”, reports pastor and nursing assistant Sandra Maria Menezes Chaves, 49 years old. A resident of São Paulo and grandmother of three grandchildren, she traveled to Brasília for what would be a peaceful action on January 8th, but was imprisoned by order of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) for seven months and could be sentenced to 14 years in prison, in addition to the payment of compensation.

She began being judged last Friday (15), in a virtual plenary session at the STF, with 28 other people. Minister Alexandre de Moraes, rapporteur of the cases of those arrested on January 8, voted to convict 29 people, with sentences between 14 and 17 years in prison. The other STF ministers have until February 5th to speak out in the trials.

“I hope their understanding is different from the rapporteur because all I did on January 8 was pray”, says Sandra, citing that the evidence that “incriminates” her is a photo of her in prayer “with her hands to the sky” outside of Congress. “I went through the police search after 3pm, arrived at the square and glorified God”, she says. “Shortly after, the bombing began and I entered the Senate to protect myself. I even asked a police officer if I could stay there, and he authorized it.”

However, Sandra says that, around 7pm, she was taken to another space in the Senate to “answer some questions and wait for a summons at home”. She waited until dawn to give this statement and explained that she had protected herself from the bombs, without breaking anything because she was against acts of vandalism. “I said I went to the march to pray”, says the volunteer pastor of the Assembly of God Church, who was arrested shortly afterwards.

“It was around 3 am, and I tried to call my children, but they were asleep. I spent seven months without seeing them or being able to talk to them”, laments the woman, mentioning that she sat on the floor until the afternoon of the following day, without food or water. “I only went to feed around 1 pm on the 9th, and they took me to the Hive.”

“There is no evidence against Sandra”

According to defense lawyer Hélio Junior, the accusation against Sandra is “completely generic, similar to those of the other people accused” and she should be “acquitted due to lack of evidence and kept free due to the absolute absence of any crime committed”, he states. in the oral argument video sent to the STF.

In this defense recording, he also points out that witnesses interviewed by the Prosecutor’s Office did not recognize Sandra among the people who damaged public property and that she acted peacefully at the demonstration. “There is no video of the accused saying that she agreed with hostile acts, and none of the artifacts used by the vandals were seized from the accused”, he says, pointing out that “it is unimaginable that the accused, with an unblemished life and lawful occupation, remained seven months in prison.”

In an interview with Gazeta do Povo, the lawyer also reports that theSandra’s actions inside the penitentiary also proved her suitability. “This woman was a great difference in supporting the other girls, who told me that they were only well, and alive, because of Pastor Sandra”, she reports. “She was a foundation within the Hive for being a wise, honest and upright woman.”

Seven months in prison

For Sandra, the months without contact with her family and being treated like a criminal in prison were “extremely difficult”, but she says she tried to remain strong to transmit strength to the other prisoners. “I fasted, consecrated myself and prayed”, reports the volunteer pastor, who founded a church in her ward with daily services.

In this way, she talked to the prisoners, prayed for them and brought biblical messages of peace to calm them. “They were all desperate, and some were talking about killing themselves,” she says. “So I listened one by one, and cried out to God to take them out before me.”

And it wasn’t just January 8 prisoners who listened to his advice. “Women who were there due to crimes also asked me for prayers and, on my birthday, they surprised me by singing ‘happy birthday’ when they went out in the sun. It was exciting”, recalls the São Paulo native, who also took care of her colleagues’ physical health.

“As I am a nursing assistant and worked in nursing homes, my heart couldn’t bear to see women with comorbidities in there without the medicine they needed, eating that food and taking cold showers in the middle of winter,” he recalls. “I tried to help, as much as possible, but it was very difficult”, she laments.

At the same time, Sandra also needed to take care of her own physical and emotional health, as the only contact she had with her family was through letters delivered by her lawyers. “I confess that I felt a lot like crying and I was dealing with the idea of ​​killing myself, but I told myself that I didn’t have that right because other women needed me.”

Provisional release with electronic ankle bracelet

Little by little, her colleagues left prison and, in August, Sandra also received a release permit to leave the Penitentiary Complex. “I lost 15 kilos and now I deal with people being rejected for wearing an ankle bracelet.”

According to her, it is difficult to get a job due to restrictive working hours, it is not possible to go to church, and it is difficult to even get simple health treatment. “I have high blood pressure and need to wear elastic stockings daily, which I can’t do due to the brace on my ankle,” she explains. Furthermore, “I need to spend money on driving every week to go to the forum, as the financial situation is already complicated”.

However, she trusts that the situation will change. “I am praying and calling for amnesty for everyone involved in January 8th, without exception, and I believe that, just as the people of Israel crossed the Red Sea, the Brazilian people will also go through this ‘Red Sea’ of today”, ensures. After all, “whoever is with us is greater than whoever is with them”, she concludes.