Torres asks for revocation of prison and criticizes GSI’s performance – 02/06/2023 – Power

The defense of former minister Anderson Torres, who was the holder of the Justice portfolio in the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government, asked the STF (Federal Supreme Court) to revoke the arrest to which he has been subjected since January 14.

Torres was arrested on his return from the US, after the coup acts that destroyed the headquarters of the three Powers on January 8. On the day of the attacks, he was Secretary of Public Security for the Federal District and was on vacation.

According to his lawyers, Demóstenes Torres and Rodrigo Roca, “the development of the investigations clearly demonstrated the total absence of minimal evidence that would allow associating the applicant [Torres] to the criminal facts in question”.

As revealed to Sheetwhen carrying out a search and seizure at his residence, the Federal Police found a draft (proposal) of a decree for then President Bolsonaro to establish a state of defense at the headquarters of the TSE (Superior Electoral Court).

The objective, according to the text, was to reverse the result of the election, in which Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) won. Such a measure would be unconstitutional.

His lawyers told the Supreme Court that after the arrest “almost a month had passed” and “in the meantime, several searches and seizures were carried out and public authorities removed”, such as Ibaneis Rocha (MDB), governor of the Federal District.

“As already mentioned, this set of measures taken during the course of the investigation was not able to bring to the file any element that goes against the suspicion of criminal omission initially considered by the director general of the Federal Police, on the part of Anderson Torres”, they say. the lawyers.

“On the contrary, the diligences commanded by Your Excellency quelled the suspicions initially outlined in the representation made to this Supreme Court”, says the defense.

Torres’ lawyers mention that President Lula stated in an interview that he had not been warned about the possibility of invasion of the buildings by any federal intelligence agency, such as the Army, GSI (Institutional Security Office) and Abin.

In the demonstration, the lawyers also say that there was an error by the intelligence agencies on January 8.

“Today, it is no longer denied: the military of the Institutional Security Office (GSI) did not act to prevent the acts”, they claim.

They go on to say that, as district secretary, he would have no power over federal authorities, which would show the fragility of the charge of willful omission. “What seems to have happened is the uncoordinated competition of several factors for the outbreak of fateful events.”

Upon being arrested, Torres said that he never questioned the result of the elections, won by Lula.

The former minister, at the time, stated that he always did his job professionally, that he was not affiliated with a party and held a political position because of the result of his work.

“This accusation took me very much by surprise, the custody hearing is not the place to say anything about it, but I want to say that I have nothing to do with the facts, this was a cannon shot in my chest, I was on vacation , a vacation dreamed of by me and my family,” he said.

He was the first Minister of Justice to be arrested since redemocratization and the first member of the Bolsonaro government arrested as a result of anti-democratic acts.

At the hearing, Torres also stated that he arrived at the Ministry of Justice “at a delicate moment” in the relationship between the Powers and that, at the time, he visited all the ministers of the STF.

“I was in the United States and I had this news [da depredação], I had to come quickly after the news of my arrest and the search and seizure of my house, I bought a very expensive ticket, taken from my salary. I have no other income, and I need the opportunity to say this, to defend myself, to say that I did not cause the facts”, said the former minister.