PT councilor loses mandate for denouncing alleged apology for Nazism, and lawyers protest – 02/04/2023 – Mônica Bergamo

The Prerogativas group, made up of lawyers, jurists and defenders, claims that the decision of the Chamber of São Miguel do Oeste (SC) to revoke the mandate of councilwoman Maria Tereza Capra (PT) is a “barbaric persecution”.

She was accused of breaking parliamentary decorum and became the target of a cassation process for criticizing Bolsonarist protesters who sang the national anthem while making a gesture similar to the Nazi salute “Sieg Heil”. The episode took place in November last year, during a coup act in the city of Santa Catarina.

By ten votes to one, councilors of the city of São Miguel do Oeste decided to revoke the PT’s mandate). The extraordinary session to vote on the final report of the Commission of Inquiry of the Council for Ethics and Parliamentary Decorum began at 6 pm on Friday (3) and ended almost ten hours later, early this Saturday (4).

According to the allegation of the prosecution, Maria Tereza Capra would have propagated false news and attributed to the citizens of São Miguel do Oeste the crime of saluting Nazism of being the birthplace of a neo-Nazi cell. Lawyers Fabio Tofic Simantob and Sergio Graziano acted in the councilor’s defense.

Tofic claims that the decision “is a clear abuse of the parliamentary majority”. “The Constitution guarantees the immunity of parliamentarians for their words, votes and opinions. It did not divulge any false facts. and manifested a revolt,” he continues.

The lawyer says he will go to court to try to reverse the decision.

The Prerogativas group also points out that Maria Tereza Capra was the victim of threats. The PT councilwoman claims that she had her car scratched by detractors and started to be persecuted after criticizing the salute made by Bolsonaristas. To protect herself, the parliamentarian left her city and the state of Santa Catarina.

“The impeachment process was a game of marked cards, which brutally tries to cover up the incurable stain of tolerance towards philo-Nazism in the city. This abominable decision will have to be reversed”, says the note released by the group.

Prerogativas lawyers also argue that her mandate “needs to be restored, just as it is imperative that there are full security conditions for the councilwoman to exercise her mandate”.

And he continues: “Above all, we will have to banish fanatical right-wing extremism, whose association with Nazism stands out and cannot be hidden by punishing those who denounce it”.

The episode became the subject of investigation by the Public Ministry of Santa Catarina (MP-SC). A preliminary investigation by the agency, however, considered that the gesture was not made with the intention of making an apology for Nazism.

The episode was investigated by Gaeco (Special Action Group to Combat Organizations), a task force coordinated by the MP-SC together with the different police, Treasury servants and firefighters with the purpose of identifying, preventing and repressing criminal organizations.

In a statement, the Public Ministry said that the gesture made by the demonstrators was made after they were called upon by the announcer of the event, a local businessman, to extend their hand over the shoulder of the person in front. Or, if there weren’t, for them to extend their arm, in order to “emanate positive energies”. To reach such a conclusion, Gaeco would have identified protesters, analyzed images and talked to witnesses of the acts, including police officers and reporters.

The report produced by the group was forwarded to the 40th Public Prosecutor’s Office in Florianópolis.

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