Former advisor to the former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) for international affairs, Filipe Martins was convicted by the Federal Court of Brasília (DF) for gestures considered racist during a session in the Senate, in 2021.
In a decision released on Monday (16), Martins was sentenced to 850 hours of service provision, in addition to paying R$22,000 in fines and a further R$30,000 for moral damages. The sentence was signed by judge David Wilson de Abreu Pardo, from the 12th Federal Criminal Court in the federal capital.
In March 2021, still during the Bolsonaro government, Martins participated in a remote session of the Senate and followed the speech of the then Minister of Foreign Relations, Ernesto Araújo.
At the moment when the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSDB-MG)he spoke, Martins put the index fingers and thumb of his right hand together, a kind of “OK” sign – common among white supremacists in the United States to refer to the expression “white power” (“white power”, in the Portuguese translation). ).
The case ended up in court following a complaint filed by the Federal Public Ministry (MPF). According to the organization, Martins made the supremacist gesture “freely and consciously”, knowing that the Senate session was being broadcast by several media outlets.
According to the judge, the gesture by Bolsonaro’s former advisor could be covered by the Racial Crimes Law, with the intention of “practicing, inducing or inciting discrimination or prejudice based on race, color, ethnicity, religion or national origin”.
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Initially, the sentence imposed on Martins was 2 years and 4 months in open prison, but the judge converted it into a sentence restricting his rights. There is an appeal.
Voluntary gesture, says judge
According to the judge, “the defendant voluntarily carried out the gesture considered criminal by the prosecution, it was not a question of adjusting the lapel of his jacket”.
“The voluntariness in carrying out the gesture is supported by the circumstance that the defendant looked at his own image, while gesturing, when looking at the screen that transmitted the President of the Senate in a larger size (thus, his own, almost full body). , sitting in a chair close to the back wall)”, noted the magistrate.
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“Notably on the second occasion, the defendant raised his right hand in front of his body and brought the tips of his thumb and index fingers together, keeping the other fingers extended, and moved them up and down, close to his own body. In this way he did it, repeat, directing his gaze forward, thus fixing it, precisely towards the place where the large screen was located, which displayed him almost in full body. The movement up and down, more than another effect, ends up drawing the attention and focus of those watching exactly to the form that the gesture adopts”, continues the judge.
Still according to the judge, “the degree of provocation, the style, the nature of the manifestation and the format reveal the voluntary performance of a gesture with an undeniably discriminatory meaning, because it affirms the supremacy of people of the white race over others, without the same value”.
“The scope of the discriminatory manifestation and its magnitude are evident, as the defendant took advantage of the opportunity to have his image broadcast by the Federal Senate’s public communication system (TV and internet), to carry out the act. Therefore, the means of disseminating the discriminatory manifestation is relevant, as the reachable audience is immense and diverse.”
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What the defense says
Filipe Martins’ defense, in the final arguments of the case, denied that the gesture by the former presidential advisor had any racist connotation.
According to Martins’ lawyers, the images used in the process are not compatible with the MPF’s allegations and do not allow any illicit conduct to be concluded.
At the time, Filipe Martins’ defense also requested the rejection of the complaint and the acquittal of his client.
