Robinho: STJ communicates Justice of Santos about arrest – 03/21/2024 – Sport

The president of the STJ (Superior Court of Justice), Maria Thereza de Assis Moura, communicated this Thursday (21) to the Federal Court in Santos about the decision that validated the conviction in Italy of former player Robson de Souza, known as Robinho, for the crime of gang rape.

The letter signed by Maria Thereza is addressed to the director of the city’s federal forum and determines that the execution of the conviction should begin “immediately.”

The Federal Court of Santos will be responsible for executing the former athlete’s sentence. Robinho, 40, was sentenced by Italian authorities to nine years in prison. His first conviction was in 2017 and he appealed and had his attempts exhausted in 2022, with a final judgment.

According to the investigation in Italy, the athlete and five other Brazilians committed group sexual violence against a woman of Albanian origin in a nightclub in Milan in 2013. He always denied the crime.

According to the STJ’s decision, Robinho must be arrested immediately. The case gathered 9 votes to 2 in favor of understanding the validity of the Italian sentence, defended by rapporteur Francisco Falcão.

Shortly after the court’s decision, the former player’s lawyer, José Eduardo Rangel de Alckmin, filed a habeas corpus request with the STF (Supreme Federal Court) to suspend the immediate arrest order until the court judges the defense’s appeals.

The request is under the responsibility of Minister Luiz Fux, who has not yet decided on the case.

In the STJ’s judgment, ministers Humberto Martins, Herman Benjamin, Luis Felipe Salomão, Mauro Campbell, Isabel Gallotti, Antonio Carlos Ferreira, Ricardo Villas Bôas Cueva, Sebastião Reis Jr, in addition to Francisco Falcão himself, spoke in favor of the validity of the sentence.

Minister Raul Araújo disagreed with Falcão’s assessment, and voted for the Italian conviction to not be valid in Brazil. Minister Benedito Gonçalves followed the same understanding.

The court did not analyze whether or not Robinho committed the crime, but only whether he should serve in Brazil the sentence to which he was sentenced in Italy.

Falcão, at the trial, said that Robinho “was not tried in absentia in Italy”, he was represented in the European country by a lawyer and that the Milan Court is responsible for judging the case.

He also stated that the facts that led to Robinho’s conviction in Italy are also provided for in Brazilian legislation and that the sentence is not inconsistent with those practiced in Brazil.