STF determines compliance with the first definitive sentence for acts of 8/1

This Friday (15), Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), ordered the beginning of the sentence imposed on Matheus Lima de Carvalho Lázaro after exhaustion of appeal possibilities.

Matheus was the third defendant to be tried on charges of participating in the January 8 protests, in one of the rare trials held in a physical plenary session. After that, at Moraes’ suggestion, the Supreme Court began to judge the other defendants in a virtual plenary session, that is, without the arguments of the ministers and without the possibility of oral argument from the lawyers.

The maneuver to speed up convictions and avoid press coverage was questioned by jurists and even by the OAB, which pointed out that “the compulsory virtual trial, without the agreement of the parties, violates due legal process, the adversarial process and the right to defense ”. Moraes, however, ignored the OAB’s request and kept his assessments out of the spotlight.

At trial, Matheus was sentenced to 17 years in prison, with a fine of R$44,000, in addition to another R$30 million, to be shared with other defendants who would be convicted of the invasion and depredation of the headquarters of the Three Powers. Now, three months after the trial, he becomes the first person convicted of acts of 8/1 to serve a definitive sentence.

Who is Matheus Lázaro

Matheus Lima de Carvalho Lázaro, 24 years old, resident of Apucarana (PR), was found guilty by the Supreme Court of five crimes: attempted coup d’état, violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law, criminal association, damage to Union property and deterioration of listed heritage.

In all cases, the majority of ministers followed the vote of the rapporteur, Alexandre de Moraes, when considering that the common objective of the crowd that vandalized Congress, the Palácio do Planalto and the STF was to depose President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and restrict or prevent the exercise of power by the Legislature and the Judiciary.

Matheus was arrested in Praça do Buriti, about 4 kilometers from Praça dos Três Poderes. When defending him on the stand, lawyer Larissa Araújo cried a few times. She said that there was no proof that he had invaded and vandalized Congress, that he did not know exactly what a military intervention meant, and that he only communicated through messages with his wife what he witnessed the vandalization of the Legislative headquarters by other protesters. .

“Many people were caught, but what are the criteria for this process? If I ask, I believe none of your Excellencies can tell me. Nobody can say why it doesn’t exist. ‘I went with you, I kicked you out, I didn’t go, you get arrested’”, he said, pointing out the alleged randomness in the arrests of those present at the Esplanada dos Ministérios after the invasions.

Afterwards, he said he was “afraid”, citing difficulties in defending his client, without the possibility of having hearings in Alexandre de Moraes’ office and having his release requests analyzed by the minister.

“The OAB never spoke out to defend us. I don’t like politics, I always talk to everyone. So my crying here is not for the party, it is for my work, which is so undervalued that I don’t even know why I’m speaking here, if no one will listen to me. Oh how funny. That’s probably what everyone says inside [da prisão]: ‘the sentences are already ready’. Who doubts that? And today I once again confirmed it and I believe that they already are,” he said, referring to the likely conviction of the defendants.