Suspect of assaulting Moraes’ son: “Slapping or pushing was an act of defense”

Investigation

Roberto Mantovani Filho, 71, said he did not remember exactly how, but “he pushed Moraes’ son away with his arm to defend himself”

Businessman Roberto Mantovani Filho, 71, maintains the version that he just brushed aside the son of Federal Supreme Court (STF) Minister Alexandre de Moraes at Rome International Airport, in Italy, last Friday (14). Without, however, remembering if he reacted with a push or a slap and that it would have been an act of defense. This Thursday (20), the Federal Police Attaché in Italy received the images from the terminal’s cameras during the period in which Moraes says he was attacked by a group of Brazilians.

According to information from columnist Igor Gadelha, from Metrópoles, attaches to the direction of the PF in Brazil reported that the images show Moraes’ son, who is also called Alexandre, being slapped on the arm that would have slipped on his glasses.

The defense of the Montovani family, however, reiterates what was said by Roberto in a statement to the Federal Police: “Mr. Roberto said he pushed him away with his arm. He didn’t remember whether it was a push or a slap. This, immediately after repeated and serious insults to his wife. It was an act of defense of a 71-year-old elderly man”, informed the lawyer Ralph Tórtima.

In almost two hours of testimony at the PF police station in Piracicaba, in the interior of São Paulo, Roberto Mantovani stated that there was an “interview” with the minister’s son, who would have made “very heavy offenses” to his wife at the airport, according to the defense lawyer.

The businessman’s defense said it had also delivered to the Federal Police a video showing the STF minister leading his son to the VIP Room. According to the report, previously both made references to the measures that would be taken against the family upon arrival in Brazil. “At that moment, Alex Zanatta, who was with the couple, asked the minister if he was threatening everyone. The minister turns around and says: ‘Bandit’. In a continuous act, he goes with his son and enters the VIP room”, said the lawyer.

airport video

In partnership with the Brazilian government, the Italian police delivered, this Thursday, images of the closed circuit TV at the airport in Rome, Italy, to the Federal Police (PF) in that country.

The sending of the images to Brazil, according to sources at the corporation, now depends on authorization from the Italian authorities so that the material can be transferred through the official channel of legal cooperation between the two countries.

*With information from Metrópoles

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