Bulletin 141 – People’s Committee in Defense of Lula and Democracy
Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil – 7/9/2018 – 20:30
- One day after the Nation witnessed an institutional breakdown led by Judge Sergio Moro to prevent Lula’s release from political imprisonment in Curitiba, Senator and PT National President Gleisi Hoffmann (PR) announced reinforcements to the schedule of demonstrations for freedom for the ex-President and for his right to dispute the October elections. She gave a press conference after meeting with the political council in the PT headquarters in São Paulo and reiterated that the party will register President Lula as a candidate on August 15th. Read more: https://lula.com.br/vamos-reforcar-mobilizacoes-pela-liberdade-de-lula-afirma-gleisi
- Senator Gleisi Hoffmann said that a group of parliamentarians and social movement members are going to press charges against Sergio Moro in the National Justice Council (CNJ). In addition to Moro, Chief Judges Gebran Neto and Thompson Flores, from the 4th Regional Federal Court (TRF-4) will be denounced to the CNJ for conducting maneuvers to impede Lula’s freedom on Sunday, July 8th, even after a habeas corpus was issued. A complaint will also be filed against the Curitiba Federal Police Department for its weekend shift officers’ refusal to obey a court order. Read more: http://www.pt.org.br/gleisi-nos-nao-vamos-aceitar-mais-violencia-contra-lula/
- After making a visit to Lula in the Curitiba Federal Police headquarters on Monday, July 9th, the ex-president’s defense team complained about the total disrespect for the democratic rule of law that exposed itself like a circus to block the ex-President’s freedom. For the lawyer Cristiano Zanin Martins, it is very worrying and incompatible with due process for a judge to act strategically to block the release of someone in his jurisdiction. According to Zanin, Lula was judged by “someone who had a vested interest in the outcome of the process and who showed interest in maintaining someone as prisoner even if he hadn’t committed any crime.” Read more here: http://www.pt.org.br/zanin-e-aragao-criticam-circo-judicial-para-manter-lula-preso/
- The legal scholar and former Minister of Justice Eugênio Aragão, who also visited Lula today, joined the chorus of voices criticizing the maneuvers of the Federal Police, of Judge Sergio Moro and of Chief Judge Thompson Flores to impede the execution of the habeas corpus. For Aragão, Moro’s disobedience of an order from a higher court represents an act of high treason against the Brazilian judicial system.
- Eleven governors – all of the governors from the Northeast and the governors from Minas Gerais and Acre – published an official statement condemning the posture of Judge Sergio Moro for trying to block the order of Chief Judge Rogério Favreto, who is his hierarchical superior, to free ex-President Lula. In the letter, they also protest against the haste with which Chief Judge Carlos Thompson Flores acted to revise the release order and believe that the judiciary acted in a biased manner against Lula. “Only the impartial application of the laws that exist about liberty and the conditions of eligibility can result in legitimate elections in 2018,” say the governors. Read the letter here: https://ptnacamara.org.br//2018/07/09/onze-governadores-denunciaram-parcialidade-de-moro-contra-lula/
- In an official note, PT Congressmen Paulo Pimenta (Rio Grande do Sul), Paulo Teixeira (São Paulo) and Wadih Damous (Rio de Janeiro) affirm that TRF-4 President Thompson Flores decision to maintain Lula’s political incarceration after Chief Judge Rogério Favreto, also from the TRF-4 ordered the release of the ex-president, is totally illegal. “The court president’s decision is illegal. It deepens the sense of injustice and political persecution against ex-President Lula and will have to be reformulated,” say the Congressmen. See the entire note here: https://ptnacamara.org.br//2018/07/09/petistas-afirmam-que-decisão-do-presidente-do-trf-de-manter-prisao-politica-de-lula-e-ilegal/
- The legal war and the arbitrary actions made by Sergio Moro, by Federal Police employees and by the Chief Judges João Gebran Neto and Thompson Flores against a legitimate ruling by Chief Judge Rogério Favreto are having international repercussions. The Argentinian newspaper Clarin highlighted the “authentic war of rulings unleashed in an unbridled manner around the issue of freedom for Lula,” and said that because Moro was on vacation he could suffer punishment for acting outside of the law. The New York Times, Le Monde, El Pais, The Washington Post, La Tercera and Corriere della Sera also noted the judicial barbarism. The North American news agency Bloomberg highlighted a note issued by the analysts at XP Investments to their clients which affirms that “the PT can celebrate a victory against Sergio Moro in the political field” even without freeing him from jail. Read more: http://www.pt.org.br/guerra-juridica-contra-lula-repercute-em-jornais-internacionais/
9. On this Monday, July 9th, the Franciscan Friar David dos Santos visited the Lula Livre Vigil. He prayed with the activists and said that the legal battle that took place on Sunday has increased the energy level for resistance in the camp. “I believe that it will increase the number of people across Brazil who will come to spend a few days here,” he said. Today also marked the end of the Base Work Methodology workshop, facilitated by André Ricardo from the Rural Research, Orientation and Assistance Association (Assessoar).
Bulletin 141 – People’s Committee in Defense of Lula and Democracy
Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil – 7/9/2018 – 20:30
