The CCJ (Constitution and Justice Committee) of the Senate approved this Wednesday (27) a bill that increases the period in which a violent fan can be prevented from going to stadiums to up to ten years. The current ban is for up to three years.
The PL was approved definitively — that is, it can be sent directly to the Chamber of Deputies, without going through the Senate plenary, if no senator presents an appeal. In the CCJ, the score was 21 votes to 0.
The bill changes the Fan Defense Statute to establish the penalty of “barring attendance near the stadium, as well as any place where sporting events are held, for a period of 1 (one) to 10 (ten) years ” to anyone who commits the crime of “promoting riot, practicing or inciting violence, or invading a place restricted to competitors in sporting events.”
Today, the penalty provides for imprisonment of one to two years and a fine, but can be converted into “barring from appearing near the stadium” by the judge for a period of three months to three years, if the fan has a good record.
The bill maintains the judge’s prerogatives, but makes the removal of fans from sports arenas the main penalty. Despite this, the PL also increases the prison sentence to a period of one to ten years (instead of two years) and a fine.
The bill was approved in the wake of the ambush carried out by Palmeiras fans on Cruzeiro fans that resulted in the death of motorcycle courier José Victor Miranda, on October 27th. The episode completes one month this Wednesday.
Fan leader Mancha Alviverde, Palmeiras’ main organized fan base, Jorge Luis Sampaio dos Santos, remains at large. He is suspected of being one of the masterminds of the attack. On the 30th, the Court ordered the arrest of Santos and his deputy, Felipe Mattos Santos, known as Fezinho.
During the ambush, two buses with members of the Blue Mafia (organized by the Minas Gerais club) that were heading from Curitiba (PR) to Belo Horizonte (MG) were attacked by Mancha fans on the Fernão Dias highway, in Greater São Paulo.
Last Thursday (21), a stone was thrown towards the Palmeiras women’s team bus, according to information released by the club. The vehicle was hit on the Castelo Branco highway, on the way from Vinhedo (SP), where the athletes train, to the capital of São Paulo.
At the beginning of this month, lawyer Gilberto Quintanilha, who defends Jorge Sampaio, stated that he did not have access to the investigation. According to him, the situation prevents him from formally knowing who the arrest requests are against and what they contain.
