The Brazilian government may have difficulty obtaining the extradition of the federal deputy (-RJ) so that he can serve a sentence for having participated in the 2022 coup plot.
Experts consulted by Sheet point out obstacles that may arise from legal aspects, due to the extradition treaty between Brazil and , and political issues.
Ramagem was sentenced to 16 years and one month in prison for the crimes of armed criminal organization, .
After the Chamber’s decision, part of the criminal action was suspended, which assessed the crimes of qualified damage and deterioration of listed property, referring to events that occurred after the parliamentarian’s diploma.
This Tuesday (25), the rapporteur of the case, Alexandre de Moraes, ordered the beginning of the sentence for the deputy, who is in the United States.
The minister pointed out that the deputy is considered a fugitive and ordered the issuance of the arrest warrant and inclusion in the National Prison Monitoring Bank. parliamentary and Federal Police delegate position, ineligibility and suspension of political rights.
On Saturday (22), Ramagem said he would not stay in Brazil because he would be arrested “without having committed any crime and suffering under a dictatorship.”
A day earlier, Moraes had ordered the deputy’s preventive detention to avoid risk to the application of criminal law.
For Diego Nunes, law professor at UFSC (Federal University of Santa Catarina), there is, for now, no legal possibility for Ramagem’s extradition, because the crimes for which he was convicted are not covered by the treaty between Brazil and the United States.
He states that the only crime that could come close to those present in the treaty is the crime of damage, suspended in the case of Ramagem. Still, he points out, there are differences, as the treaty, unlike the Penal Code, provides that the damage is intended to cause danger to other people and “is close to Brazilian criminal types on sabotage or provisions on terrorism”.
With this, he concludes, there would be no possibility of Ramagem being extradited for the crimes involved in the coup plot. What could happen, he says, is possible deportation if he does not have a visa or other permission to stay in the country, as happened with others convicted under the .
According to Raphael Rocha, law professor at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, the political aspect can also make extradition difficult.
“The Trump government has maintained a dubious stance in relation to these issues. It has been taking, in terms of tariffs, but maintains some political sanctions, such as , which remains in force against, for example, Alexandre de Moraes. There is no clear position on the political vision of the North American government on this matter”, he says.
According to Rocha, after the conviction is communicated by the Judiciary, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security makes an extradition request. The documentation is sent to a body within the National Secretariat of Justice, responsible for intermediating the procedure with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This, in turn, establishes diplomatic contact with the responsible foreign authority.
For him, the most plausible thing is for the Brazilian jurisdiction to adopt alternative mechanisms of coercion, such as declaring the loss of an elective mandate, already the subject of Moraes’ decision, or the imposition of financial sanctions, to pressure Ramagem’s voluntary return.
The professor also remembers that the parliamentarian can argue that his conviction derives from a crime of a political nature, since there are international restrictions on the surrender of individuals for crimes of this nature.
Evandro Carvalho, professor of international law at Fundação Getúlio Vargas and UFF (Universidade Federal Fluminense), remembers that an extradition request is not automatic. The US government will assess, he says, whether the facts underlying the decision also constitute a crime in the country and whether Brazilian justice observed due legal process.
For him, it is not possible to say that extradition will occur “easily”, as each request undergoes judicial and administrative analysis in the USA. “But it also cannot be said that it is unlikely: the treaty exists, the crimes are serious and there are precedents for cooperation between the two countries”, he says.
