RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On Thursday, November 5th, the mixed court formed to decide the impeachment of Rio Governor Wilson Witzel accepted the complaint charging a crime of accountability and proceeded with the case for the governor’s permanent removal.
The members of the court, comprising five state Appellate Court (TJ-RJ) Judges and five Rio de Janeiro Legislative Assembly (ALERJ) deputies, decided that there was sufficient evidence of the practice of the crimes listed in the complaint to justify proceeding to trial. After the decision is published, Witzel will present his defense within 20 days. The preliminary investigative proceedings will trigger a period of 180 days in which the trial must be completed.
The Governor will be impeached if at least two-thirds (seven) of the impeachment court’s ten members vote to convict him.
The removed governor is accused of leading a scheme to embezzle funds earmarked for fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. In a separate criminal action, Witzel has already been indicted by the PGR (Prosecutor General’s Office) for corruption, money laundering and criminal organization.
After Witzel delivers his defense to the mixed court, a new session will be scheduled for approval and publication of the preliminary investigative proceedings and setting a trial calendar. During the preliminary proceedings, steps such as the deposition of witnesses will be ordered to clarify the case.
Once the preliminary proceedings are completed, a ten-day period will be granted for the prosecution to submit closing arguments and then the defense will be offered the same period for its closing arguments.
The final trial date will be decided after the closing arguments. Witzel will be convicted of the impeachable crime if the indictment is sustained by two-thirds (seven) of the Court’s ten members.
As in the voting held in ALERJ, the state deputies appointed to the impeachment court have all favored the governor’s removal, so in effect Witzel’s future rests in the hands of the Appeals Court judges.
The five magistrates on the court have accumulated years of experience in the civil area and are viewed as technical, rather than political. They are TJ-RJ Judges Teresa de Andrade Castro Neves, José Carlos Maldonado de Carvalho, Maria da Glória Bandeira de Mello, Fernando Foch de Lemos Arigony da Silva, and Inês da Trindade Chaves de Melo.
Deputies Alexandre Feitas (Novo), Waldeck Carneiro (PT), Chico Machado (PSD), Dani Monteiro (PSOL) and Carlos Macedo (Republicanos) were elected by ALERJ as its representives on the impeachment court.
Source: Folhapress