The minister, of the (Supreme Federal Court), cited the case of the deputy, portrayed in the film “I’m Still Here”, and argued that the law, enacted in , does not extend to crimes of concealment of a corpse.
Dino says this, because “whoever hides and keeps something hidden prolongs the action until the fact becomes known”.
“The crime is being consummated even today, so it is not possible to apply the Amnesty Law to these subsequent events”, he states.
The minister’s position was expressed in a decision published this Sunday. Dino is the rapporteur of an appeal by the (Federal Public Ministry) against a ruling by the Regional Court of the 1st Region that allowed military personnel accused of hiding bodies during the military dictatorship to benefit from the Amnesty Law.
Dino’s decision, however, was to define that the case should have general repercussions — an instrument through which the Supreme Court establishes a broad understanding of the matter.
The case will be analyzed by the virtual plenary of the STF.
“Maintaining the omission of the location where the body is located, in addition to preventing family members from exercising their right to mourn, constitutes the commission of a crime, as well as a situation of flagrant crime,” wrote the minister.
He cited the film directed by Walter Salles and starring Fernanda Torres and Selton Mello, which tells the story of the disappearance of former deputy Rubens Paiva, kidnapped by the dictatorship.
“The story of the disappearance of Rubens Paiva, whose body was never found and buried, highlights the indescribable pain of thousands of fathers, mothers, brothers, children, nephews, grandchildren, who never had their rights in relation to their missing family members taken care of.”
If the minister’s understanding is the majority in the Supreme Court, there will be a change in the stance adopted by the Judiciary regarding the scope of the Amnesty Law.
The discussion began in 2015. The Federal Public Ministry filed a complaint with the Pará Court against Lício Army lieutenant colonels Augusto Ribeiro Maciel and Sebastião Curió Rodrigues de Moura.
They are accused of the crimes of qualified homicide and concealment of a corpse committed during the Araguaia Guerrilla.
In 1973 and 1974, Curió had direct participation in the persecution, execution and torture of PC do B guerrillas who operated between the north of Tocantins and the southeast of Pará.
Afterwards, he was sent to Serra Pelada to work during the gold rush. He became popular among miners, to the point of being elected federal deputy and mayor of Curionópolis, a city named in his honor, and leading a revolt against the government.
He died in 2022, aged 87. Two years earlier, it was . At the time, Secom (Communication Secretariat of the Presidency) published a text in which it classified as “heroes of Brazil” the public agents who acted against the Araguaia Guerrilla in the 1970s.
The MPF’s complaint did not succeed in the first instance, due to the understanding that the acts carried out would be covered by the Amnesty Law.
The case was taken to the Regional Electoral Court of the 1st Region. In 2020, however, the Public Prosecutor’s Office’s appeal was rejected with the same arguments as the lower court.
The MPF took the case to the Supreme Court this year. The expectation is that the case will be taken to a virtual plenary session before the recess, for discussion by ministers.
