STF Minister Gilmar Mendes is the rapporteur for the action on trial.| Photo: Nelson Jr./STF.

Federal Supreme Court (STF) minister Gilmar Mendes said that federal deputy Carla Zambelli (PL-SP) was only not arrested red-handed after pulling out a gun and chasing a man in São Paulo for having privileged jurisdiction. The statement appears in the magistrate’s vote to reject an appeal filed by the parliamentarian’s defense.

Lawyers question the decision that determined the delivery of weapons and the suspension of Zambelli’s possession of weapons. The trial began this Friday (10) and runs until the 17th in the virtual plenary of the Court.

“By the way, the absence of arrest in flagrante delicto of federal deputy Carla Zambelli Salgado de Oliveira resulted precisely from the incidence of the forum by prerogative of function that, contradictorily, intends to see removed at the moment. For these reasons, I reaffirm the competence of the Federal Supreme Court”, wrote the minister.

The defense argues that the deputy acted in putative self-defense, when the individual reacts to an action he imagines will occur. “The allegation of putative self-defense should be analyzed at the time of the judgment on the merits, since there are not enough elements to accept the claim at the current procedural stage”, Mendes pointed out.

In addition, the lawyers allege that the STF does not have the competence to judge the case, as the Court should analyze episodes linked to the parliamentary mandate. However, the minister pointed out that the case “is directly linked to the condition of Federal Deputy, attracting the competence of the Federal Supreme Court”.

So far, Minister Gilmar Mendes was the only one to vote in the trial, as he was the case’s rapporteur. Last month, the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) denounced Zambelli for illegally carrying a firearm and illegal embarrassment.