The (Superior Court of Justice) rescheduled the session that will define the opening of a case against the minister for April 14th. Initially, the stage was scheduled for this Tuesday (10), but was postponed until the organization of the case material was completed.
At that time, court ministers will assess whether the allegations against Buzzi are solid enough to be transformed into a PAD (disciplinary administrative process) or whether they should be archived.
If the first option prevails, the minister will answer for the accusations, will have the right to defense and, afterwards, the CNJ (National Council of Justice) must review the process.
The tendency is for the investigation to result in the magistrate’s compulsory retirement. For this to happen, at least 22 votes are needed — the court is made up of 33 ministers. Voting is secret.
There are two allegations of a sexual nature against Buzzi. The first accusation against the magistrate had been made in January by the daughter of a couple of his friends, who said she had been grabbed while swimming in the sea on the coast of Santa Catarina.
The second case refers to reports from an outsourced employee who was assigned to the minister’s office. According to her, the harassment would have occurred in several areas of Buzzi’s office, including the minister’s own office, as well as a storage space, corridor and library.
The STJ opened an internal inquiry into the case. It was formed by ministers Francisco Falcão, who presides over the group, as well as Raul Araújo and Antonio Carlos Ferreira.
The National Justice Inspectorate suspended work on investigating the complaints until the conclusion of the inquiry opened by the STJ. On February 10, the court removed the magistrate until the internal investigation was completed.
The national inspector, Minister Mauro Campbell, had already opted to suspend the procedure at the CNJ before this deliberation. He did not participate in the meeting and was also not present in the session that decided to open the investigation, precisely because of the position he holds in the CNJ.
The minister ordered the sending of the evidence collected so far by the Internal Affairs Department to the commission selected to analyze the case at the STJ.
According to people familiar with the investigation, the Internal Affairs Department also monitors the progress of the work through an integrated system. This way, you can raise the case again if you deem necessary or act in the disciplinary review after the STJ concludes.
Administrative processes have the most serious consequence of compulsory retirement. In this scenario, Buzzi would lose his position as minister, but would continue to receive his earnings.
Due to the seriousness of the conduct, the minister would receive this penalty or suspension if the act was proven. Below this, he could suffer a warning or censure, if it is understood that his stance was less serious.
A conviction in the STF for the crime of sexual harassment could lead to imprisonment and loss of pay.
