Defying the Supreme Court, Brazil’s Prosecutor General confirms Bolsonaro’s pardon of MP Silveira

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The PGR (Prosecutor General of the Republic) requested this Tuesday (14) to Brazil’s Supreme Court STF to annul the sentence of Daniel Silveira. The panel also asked for lifting all preventive measures against the MP, the obligation to wear an electronic ankle bracelet, and a ban on giving interviews.

In the document, Deputy Prosecutor General Lindôra Maria Araújo demands that the effects of the MP’s pardon by President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) be recognized. Read the full document.

“The presidential decree is existent, valid, and effective,” she said.

The deputy prosecutor’s motion stipulates that the expungement is valid until the constitutionality of Bolsonaro’s pardon is examined. The issue will be evaluated in another case filed by the political parties.

The PGR has already expressed its opinion on the constitutionality of the decree. For the panel, the measure is valid in relation to the prison sentence, but the pardon does not affect the suspension of the deputy’s political rights.

Lindôra also said that the preventive measures established by de Moraes could not last “indefinitely” and should have the legal force of the conviction as a limit. “At this stage of the criminal proceedings, these precautionary measures should be lifted due to their provisional nature.”

According to the PGR, the following precautionary measures against Silveira remain in effect.

• Prohibition of any form of access or contact with the others investigated in Investigations 4.781/DF and 4.874/DF, except federal deputies;
• Prohibition of the use of all social networks “used for the repeated commission of the crimes with which the accused is charged by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, in his name or through his press or communications agency, as well as any other natural or legal person who speaks or expresses and communicates on his behalf, directly or indirectly (including through the use of symbols, signs, and photographs), to create the impression that he is speaking on his behalf or with his knowledge, even implicitly.”
• Prohibition of interviews of any kind, regardless of the medium, without express judicial authorization;
• Use of an electronic ankle bracelet;
• Prohibition from leaving the state of Rio de Janeiro, where he resides, except for traveling to Brasilia (DF) to exercise the mandate; and
• Prohibition from attending any public event in Brazil.

The deputy prosecutor said that even if the expiration of Silveira’s sentence is not recognized, the precautionary measures should not remain in force.

Lindôra also said that the daily fine for non-compliance with the measures already amounts to almost R$1 million (US$192,000), considering the status until Tuesday, June 14.

“The high severity and intensity of this precautionary measure violate the principle of proportionality, as it constitutes an excessive restriction on the fundamental rights of the convicted person, which is not balanced with the interest of the effectiveness of the process and therefore must be revoked.

FINES

Alexandre de Moraes, notorious for his bias against Bolsonaristas, has already imposed 3 fines on Silveira, totaling R$645,000 (US$126,000). The decisions were made for non-compliance with the court’s obligations, such as using an electronic ankle bracelet.

Silveira’s bank accounts were blocked by the order of de Moraes to allow payment of the fines. He also ordered the freezing of 25% of the MP’s salary.

The MP’s defense appealed to Moraes, requesting that the fines and restrictive measures are lifted, and the sentence overturned.

On May 19, Silveira’s lawyer, Mariane Andréia Cardoso dos Santos, met with de Moraes at the Supreme Court of Justice (STF). After the meeting, she said there were no legal grounds to suspend the validity of Bolsonaro’s pardon decree for the deputy.

CONVICTION

Silveira was sentenced on April 200 by the STF to 8 years and 9 months in prison for verbally attacking Justices of the Court and attempting to prevent the free exercise of powers. The presidential pardon was published the following day.

The sentence in an initially closed regime was seen mainly by Brazil’s large patriotic, religious, and economic circles as a political judgment of the leftist-activist STF.

In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered the loss of Silveira’s mandate and the suspension of his political rights while the effects of the conviction linger.

The Planalto Palace and the Attorney General’s Office (AGU) told STF that Bolsonaro’s pardon was constitutional. The Attorney General of the Union, Bruno Bianco, stated in a letter that the decree falls under the personal jurisdiction of the president. Read the full manifestations of the Palace and the AGU.

The underlying problem is a deep disharmony and distrust between the executive and judicial branches. Both sides accuse the other of overstepping its authority or exploiting its power.

The fronts are hardened, and the presidential elections are just around the corner in October. The case was causing a stir and did not bode well for the coming months.

The STF sentence against Silveria was handed down on April 20. The next day, Bolsonaro signed the decree that overturned the federal congressman’s conviction.

The case refers to a video published by Silveira on February 166, 2021. In the publication, the congressman “insults” the Justices of the Supreme Court.

The deputy was arrested on the order of Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the rapporteur of the case, the same day the video was published. The arrest was lifted in November 2021.

The Prosecutor General PGR considered that the video contained statements beyond “mere verbal excesses.”

Silveira’s crime consisted of a profanity-laced tirade posted on Youtube calling out various STF Justices by name, including Alexandre de Moraes, for being “not good for shit for this country” and calling for the removal of all STF Justices from the bench.

In a segment that the STF repeatedly highlighted as the most offensive in the video, Silveira said he imagined one of the Justices “taking a beating” but insisted he was “just imagining” and not “inciting violence.”

Justice De Moraes insisted in his ruling that Brazilian law only protects “freedom of expression with responsibility,” granting the STF sweeping power to decide what is or is not “responsible” speech. Criticizing the STF proved “irresponsible” for the court.

“Freedom of expression exists for the manifestation of opposing opinions, jokes, satires, for wrong opinions, but not for criminal opinions, hate speech, an attack on the democratic state of law,” de Moraes, who ordered a violent raid on a Youtube comedian for reportedly supporting Bolsonaro, said last week.

“This Court and the world, in general, agree that freedom of expression is not an absolute right and must be balanced with other values and constitutional rights,” another STF Justice, Luís Roberto Barroso, said during the Silveira ruling.

In contrast, Bolsonaro wrote in his presidential decree pardoning Silveira that “freedom of expression is an essential pillar of society in all its manifestations.”