Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), denied the defense request of Father José Eduardo de Oliveira e Silva for his cell phone to be returned.
The device has been in possession of the Federal Police (PF) since February, when the priest was one of the targets of Operation Tempus Veritatis. He.
In his decision, the magistrate denied the request from the defense of the parish priest of Osasco, in Greater São Paulo, because the investigations “are still in regular progress, which is why the claim for restitution of the seized assets does not merit success, as they are still of interest to the complete elucidation of the facts investigated”.
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The defense argued that the seizure of the device would violate Oliveira’s priestly secrecy. This was the same justification he used when he refused to hand over his cell phone password to the PF. At the time, the priest stated that the device would contain “the most profound dramas of the faithful”.
The minister then said that the cleric is being investigated for being part of a criminal group that aimed to discredit the electoral process, plan and execute a coup d’état and abolish the Democratic Rule of Law. “Therefore, there is no indication that the person under investigation is limiting or disrespecting his religious freedom, but rather that he may have committed various criminal conducts in situations outside his priestly role.”
The PF investigation showed that he participated in a meeting on November 19, 2022 at Palácio do Planalto, when the coup draft would have been discussed. According to Moraes, the religious man was part of the legal core of the coup planning.
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According to the minister’s decision at the time, Oliveira would act “in advising and drafting decrees with legal and doctrinal grounds that would meet the coup interests of the group under investigation”.
The former special advisor for International Affairs to the Presidency, Filipe Martins, the lawyer Amauri Feres Saad, the former Minister of Justice Anderson Torres, and Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid, the scheme’s whistleblower and former assistant, would also be part of this group. of Bolsonaro’s orders.
Following the results of the first round of the presidential elections, in which Bolsonaro and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) advanced to the second stage, Oliveira posted a photo of an altar covered with a Brazilian flag, supporting an image of Our Lady. In the caption, he wrote: “Some trust in cars, others in horses. But we trust in the Lord and so we will resist.”
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During the February operation, the priest stated, in a note, that, in relation to the PF investigation, his position on the matter is “clear” and “unequivocal”, and says he is at the disposal of the Court.
“The Republic is secular and governed by constitutional precepts, which must be respected. Breaking with the established order would be deeply contrary to my principles. Below God, in our country, is the Federal Constitution. Therefore, I did not cooperate or endorse any act disrupting the Constitution. As a professor of moral theology, I have always taught that the positive law must be obeyed by the faithful, among whom I humbly include myself,” he wrote.
Also in a statement, the Diocese of Osasco stated that it received news about the PF investigations and searches of the priest’s house through social media. “The Diocese will always stand on the side of Justice, collaborating with the authorities in elucidating the case.”
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