By Arkady Petrov
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – After a small group of 30 magistrates called for the exclusion of Sérgio Moro by the Association of Federal Judges (AJUFE), the Minister of Justice and Public Security was sent a motion of support signed by 271 of his former peers. They claim that the messages ascribed to Moro and members of Lava Jato, even if authentic, “do not infringe the principle of impartiality that governs the conduct of a magistrate.”
This is the first significant reaction of magistrates in defense of the former judge, who made a name for himself at the helm of Lava Jato. This massive support compensates for the overwhelming offensive of lawyers — the majority representing Lava Jato defendants — who in recent days have been asking for Moro’s head.
Thirty federal judges petitioned the Association of Federal Judges of Brazil (AJUFE) to exclude minister Sérgio Moro, to whom they ascribe “dubious interplay” with Lava Jato’s prosecutors. The call is based on reports from The Intercept Brazil on conversations between the former federal judge and prosecutors of the Lava Jato task force.
The 271 judges expressing support for Moro state that “all the messages, even if cut out to magnify sensationalism, show the magistrate’s concern with the proceedings, with no relation, however small, that would discredit each denunciation.”
“They also show the habitual interinstitutional republican debate in all of the country’s courts, in connection with which judges, members of the Public Prosecutor, the Police Forces and members of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) communicate, oftentimes orally, but also through Apps, in order to dispel doubts, clarify procedures and prevent deferral and annulments,” they say.
Judges say that the “magistrate, as the central “decision-maker” of this complex system, is not precluded from engaging in dialogue with the other players involved on issues unrelated to the substance of the case.”
“We believe that, as a judge, Sérgio Fernando Moro has never strayed from the duties demanded of an honorable magistrate, aligned with ethical principles, committed to the search for truth and the enforcement of justice, with the rule of law, with impartiality, acting in the largest case of corruption known in the world with unmitigated dedication and sacrifice and all the while exposing himself to personal and family risks of all kinds,” they say.
“While carrying out his duties, impartially at all times, he tried, convicted, and also acquitted hundreds of people. All of his decisions, always based on a rigorous examination of the evidence in the case file, were scrutinized in several appellate courts, through hundreds of appeals from the public prosecutor itself and defense lawyers,” they assert.
“We do not accept that the brilliance of this herculean task, a veritable turning point in the fight against corruption and crimes committed by the powerful, should be tarnished by innocuous and criminally obtained messages,” they conclude.