RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Globo confirmed yesterday that it will appeal the Rio de Janeiro state court ruling that on Friday banned the disclosure by the station of any document or piece of the confidential proceeding related to the investigation of the salary “splitting” kickback scheme involving Senator Flávio Bolsonaro.
News anchor Flávio Fachel read the following note: “Globo respects judicial rulings, but laments this restriction on freedom of information, since the investigation in question is of interest to society as a whole. Globo will appeal the decision as soon as it is notified.”
The measure was granted at the request of the President’s son, who filed a motion on Thursday, September 3rd, through his attorneys Rodrigo Roca and Luciana Pires. The case is under judicial seal.
“I have nothing to hide and I have explained everything in the records, but the stories that part of the press devises to wear out my image and that of President Jair Messias Bolsonaro are criminal,” said the senator.
Associations speak of censorship
In a statement, the National Association of Newspapers (ANJ) criticized the censorship and said that the ruling “violates the freedom of the press, restricts society’s right to be freely informed.” “This is even more serious when it comes to information of obvious public interest,” the ANJ noted.
The president of the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (ABRAJI), Marcelo Träsel, also criticized the censorship imposed by the Rio Court.
“We consider any kind of prior censorship unacceptable in a democracy, particularly when the target of journalistic coverage is a public official whose mandate was granted by vote, which makes him accountable to society. We did not have access to the ruling, but such a measure would require exceptional grounds to be justified,” he said. “The 33rd Civil Court’s ruling hinders journalistic coverage of the serious accusations against Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, violating the freedom of the press and the right to information.”
“The voters of Rio de Janeiro and all citizens are the ones losing, who will find it difficult to follow the progress of the investigations against the son of the President of the Republic and assess whether the authorities are fulfilling their duties,” concluded Träsel.
Understanding the case
Flávio Bolsonaro is under investigation for embezzlement, money laundering and criminal organization, in an alleged scheme involving his ex-advisor Fabrício Queiroz, who was only dismissed in 2018 after the first indications of irregularities in the office of the President’s son were disclosed. Queiroz was arrested in Atibaia (SP) in June and is under house arrest in Rio de Janeiro.
On Monday, August 31st, the Rio de Janeiro Prosecutor’s Office reported that the Specialized Anti-Corruption Task Force (Gaecc/MPRJ) completed its investigations and forwarded the criminal file to the Rio de Janeiro Prosecutor General.
In August, Queiroz’s bank statements attached to the investigation showed that Flávio’s ex-advisor deposited 21 checks on behalf of First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro. The transactions date from October 2011 to December 2016, in amounts ranging from R$3,000 to R$ 4,000. Altogether, the checks amount to R$72,000.
Similar transactions were detected in the account of Márcia Aguiar, Queiroz’s wife. Records show that she deposited another six checks to Michelle for the total of R$17,000.
The disclosure of transactions troubled the President’s family. When asked about the R$89,000 deposits made by Queiroz and Marcia to the First Lady, Bolsonaro told a reporter that he felt like “punching him in the face”.
A complaint against the senator is in its final stages and should be lodged after the appeal by the Prosecutor’s Office is judged by the STF (Federal Supreme Court). The Prosecutor’s Office appealed to the STF after the Rio de Janeiro Appellate Court granted Flávio Bolsonaro legislative privilege in the investigations.
The appellate court’s opinion was that, as Bolsonaro only ceased to be a state deputy simultaneously with becoming a federal senator, the investigations should be conducted in a case overseen by the Special Institution of the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice, comprising 25 appellate judges.
The Specialized Working Group in the Fight Against Corruption’s (GAECC) indictment, in turn, was forwarded to the state Prosecutor General, Eduardo Gussem, who signed a cooperation agreement with the prosecutors to retain them in the investigations.
Source: UOL