International Criminal Court Shelves Investigations against Bolsonaro

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Denunciations brought by Brazilian organizations to the International Criminal Court (ICC) against President Jair Bolsonaro have been temporarily filed by the Court on Monday, September 14th. The groups are accusing the President of committing alleged crimes against humanity during his mandate, both against indigenous communities and during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

In a decision sent to the organizations, Mark P. Dillon, head of the Information and Evidence Department of the ICC, states that the progress of investigations will be halted until new facts emerge that can be incorporated into the previously made denunciations. “The forwarded data will be retained in our files, and the decision not to proceed (with the investigations) may be reconsidered if new facts or evidence provide a reasonable ground (of evidence) to believe that a crime under the jurisdiction of the Court has been committed,” he states in the document.

One of the denunciations was brought by the Brazilian Association of Jurists for Democracy (ABJD) in April this year. In the document, the organization accused the President of committing a crime against humanity by encouraging “people to return to their jobs, children to return to schools, youths to return to universities, and people to walk the streets as usual,” opposing the social isolation guidelines to contain the spread of the virus.

According to attorney Tânia Oliveira, member of the ABJD National Directory, the filing does not mean that the investigations have been suspended. “It is not a formal filing as in Brazil’s legal system. They leave the data pending so that, if new circumstances arise, they can proceed (with the investigations) at the point where they stopped,” she says. The submission of new data to corroborate the denunciation need not be made by the organizations that lodged the case, but rather from the Court itself.”

This reaction was already expected by the organizations, says Tânia. “It is necessary to understand that the international courts, in general, are not stripped of political influence. Tânia explains that “Bolsonaro is a democratically elected President, so it is very difficult for the Court to decide to prosecute (similar cases),” pointing out that the proceedings could go on for years.

In addition to the ABJD, the Arns Commission and the Collective for Advocacy in Human Rights (CADHu) have also begun legal proceedings against President Bolsonaro for instigating indigenous genocide; the international organization Uni Global Union and health professional unions, also allege the same omission by the government in the face of the crisis triggered by the pandemic.

Tânia says that a meeting has been convened for Wednesday, September 16th, to decide if they will lodge a reconsideration request. But, according to the attorney, since the proceedings have not been completely suspended, there is still no room for this type of appeal.

In an interview with Estadão, Brazilian Sylvia Steiner, who acted as a judge for the 2003 and 2016 ICC, said she did not believe that the denunciations would be pursued. “Until now, the court has given priority to cases involving armed conflict, attacks against the civilian population,” she said at the time.

Source: Estadão Conteúdo