Brazil’s STF Justice Celso de Mello Denies Petition to Take The Intercept Offline

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Lawyer Arnaldo Saldanha called for the website to be blocked and for the search and seizure of the material linked to the page.

In his decision, Justice Celso de Mello says that writs of habeas corpus are used “only” to support the “immediate release of physical mobility of individuals” and says he finds the filing of the petition “strange” in this case.

“If this release is not subject to any kind of restriction, and if the right to go, come or even remain is not jeopardized, then nothing will warrant the use of ‘habeas corpus’, because the release of physical mobility is not in question”, he explains.

In addition, the justice claims that, even if the appeal were legally feasible, the case was brought by someone who does not have “any professional relationship” with Sérgio Moro, and that, in such cases, the Supreme Court has been deciding not to acknowledge unauthorized habeas corpus petitions.

“It is a well-known fact that the person in question has not appointed Arnaldo Saldanha Pires as his lawyer, now the petitioner, to whom he did not confer powers to promote, in criminal matters, the necessary actions for the protection of his rights,” he says.

In addition to the blocking and search and seizure, Saldanha also called for the opening of an inquiry by the Federal Police to investigate the website, the prohibition of reproduction of related materials, the setting of a daily penalty to media outlets that disclose The Intercept’s material, the removal of material from Google and the scanning and installation of anti-spyware devices in federal courts.

Source: UOL