Robinho’s defense tells the STJ that the player will hand over his passport

the defense of Robinho filed with the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) this Thursday, 23, the request for the voluntary delivery of the athlete’s passport. The Brazilian was ultimately sentenced by the Italian court to nine years for the crime of rape committed against an Albanian woman in a nightclub in Milan.in 2013.

According to the athlete’s defense, as soon as the request is accepted by Minister Francisco Falcão, rapporteur of the case at the Court, the document will be formally delivered. “We believe that this will show his good faith and the lack of will to leave the country”, argued the athlete’s lawyer, José Eduardo Alckmin.

“Robinho continues to fully believe that he will obtain a fair trial. For that purpose, he will remain in Brazil and will confidently await the decision of the Superior Court of Justice”, he added.

The defense’s initiative to decide to hand over the passport comes after the STJ summons the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF) to comment on the request of the Brazilian Union of Women (UBM) to retain the player’s document.

The new rapporteur for the case, Minister Francisco Falcão, granted the entity’s request to be included in the action as amicus curiae (friend of the court), a Latin expression used to designate a third party who joins the process with the function of providing subsidies to the judging body. The social repercussions of the case made the minister understand that it was pertinent to include UBM in the process.

When she was the rapporteur for the case, the president of the STJ, Minister Maria Thereza de Assis Moura, denied the request of the Brazilian Union of Women (UBM) for Robinho’s passport to be seized

Robinho was cited by the Brazilian justice last Thursday. On the same day, the player’s lawyers asked the Italian government to be summoned to present a full copy of the process that culminated in the Brazilian’s conviction.

Falcão gave Robinho’s lawyers 15 days to comment on the Italian government’s request for the player to serve a nine-year sentence in Brazil. The athlete’s defense considers the documents essential and said it will appeal the decision. To Estadão, last week, Alckmin stated that the player feels “wronged”.

The execution of a foreign judgment is provided for in the Federal Constitution and is supported by the Immigration Law. The STJ proceeded with the process at the end of February. There is no stipulated time frame for the case to reach a conclusion.

It should be remembered that Robinho’s defense cannot challenge the merits of the conviction handed down by the Italian Justice, since the STJ only examines formal aspects of the case to recognize or not the ratification of the sentence in Brazil.