The minister, of the (Supreme Federal Court), suspended this Saturday (9) the application of the law approved by the government and which could reduce the sentences of the former president (PL) and others convicted of attempted coup d’état and the coup acts of the 8th of January.
He said he will await the court’s plenary judgment on the constitutionality of the measure, which has already been approved.
The minister’s position was given in the criminal executions of at least ten cases related to the 8/1 attacks. The decisions were taken as a result of the promulgation, made by the president of , (-AP), on Friday (8).
Alcolumbre enacted the project after the president () let the deadline expire after the . As provided for in the Federal Constitution, the responsibility for promulgating, in these cases, passes to the President of the House.
The text represented a defeat for the government in Congress.
The promulgation of dosimetry resulted in judicialization in the STF, with actions both to overturn Congress’s decision and to reduce penalties. The defendants’ lawyers, but feared that congestion would delay the analysis.
The PSOL-Rede federation and the ABI (Brazilian Press Association) sued the STF to block the law, asking that the text be considered unconstitutional and that a precautionary measure (urgent decision) suspend its effectiveness.
The federation made up of PT, PC do B and PV also sued the STF with an ADI (Direct Action of Unconstitutionality), as announced by the parties this Saturday.
“In addition to the defects in the legislative process, the ADI brings new grounds about the incompatibility of the law with fundamental norms of the Constitution and with the jurisprudence of the STF”, says the action. “Furthermore, maintaining the validity and effects of the contested provisions until the final judgment of this ADI creates a perverse incentive for the organization of new attacks on democratic institutions.”
In a statement, the defense of , known as “Débora do Batom”, and others convicted of the coup attacks on January 8, 2023 said that Moraes’ decision causes “huge legal and institutional concern”.
“The National Congress approved a law. The law was enacted. The law was published. The law is in force. And even so, it is no longer applied by an individual decision based on a bureaucratic suspension until future judgment of actions in the Supreme Court”, says the note, signed by lawyer Hélio Garcia Ortiz Junior.
Her defense had informed last week, after the veto was overturned, that they would ask for a reduction in her sentence and would also file a request for her release.
Last Monday (6), Moraes rejected the request. At the time, he stated that the legislation was not yet in force, that the measure had not yet been formalized and, therefore, the reduction in sentences would not yet be in force.
In this Saturday’s note, the lawyer argues that there must be a difference in treatment between those convicted.
“One cannot put on the same level those who organized, financed or led them and those who were merely present in the context of the events”, says the text. “What is surprising is that, instead of allowing the immediate application of a more beneficial criminal law — something historically guaranteed by the Brazilian legal system — it was decided to prevent its effects even before a definitive decision by the plenary.”
The defense text also argues that Moraes’ decision raises the discussion about “the sovereign will of the National Congress, legal certainty and respect for the fundamental guarantees provided for in the Constitution”.
