The trial was resumed after a request from the Dean of the Court and takes place in a virtual plenary session; the former player was convicted of rape
The dean minister of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), Gilmar Mendes, voted this Friday (15.Nov.2024) to release former football player Robson de Souza, known as Robinho. Here is it (PDF – 299 kB).
Gilmar is a fan of Santos Futebol Clube, the team where Robinho began his sporting career. With his vote, the score was 3 to 1 to keep the former player in jail. He was sentenced to 9 years in prison for rape and has been there since March this year.
Ministers Luiz Fux, rapporteur of the case, Edson Fachin and Roberto Barroso, president of the Court, voted to maintain the prison.
The 2 habeas corpus trial began in September, but a request for review (more time for analysis) from Gilmar blocked its analysis. It has now resumed, in a virtual plenary (when there is no debate) and will continue until November 26th.
ROBINHO PRISON
The trial that determined that Robinho would serve a sentence for rape in Brazil was on March 20 of this year, at the STJ (Superior Court of Justice). This is because, in 2017, the former player was sentenced to 9 years in prison in Italy for a rape that allegedly occurred in 2013, in a nightclub in Milan. At the time, he played for Milan.
The Court’s judgment analyzed the validation of the Italian court’s decision, allowing the former player to serve his sentence in Brazilian territory. In other words, it was not a new trial of the actions that were processed abroad, but rather an examination to verify whether the sentence met the formal requirements set out to carry out approval.
The Court also decided that Robinho’s sentence should be served immediately in a closed regime. He was arrested by the PF (Federal Police), in Santos, the day after the trial. This is one of the points questioned by habeas corpus. The former player’s defense asks that Robinho remain free until the resources in the case are exhausted.
In his vote, Gilmar decided to suspend the homologation process of the Italian sentence, currently being processed by the STJ, with the consequent release of the former player. If the vote is unsuccessful, he says that, considering the lack of final judgment in the case, Robinho should be released immediately.
The dean says, however, that his opinion should not be confused with any value judgment regarding the Italian justice process, nor is it intended to discuss the fact for which Robinho was convicted. According to the minister, he discusses the imposition of prison through transfer of sentence execution.
