Almeida after harassment accusation: There is a campaign to affect my image as a black man

Human Rights Minister Silvio Almeida said on Thursday, the 5th, that the accusations of sexual harassment published against him are part of a “campaign” to damage his image as a “black man in a prominent position in public power”. The statement was made in a note published on the Human Rights Ministry website. Earlier on Thursday, the Metrópoles website published a report on alleged accusations of sexual harassment committed by Almeida, including against the Minister of Racial Equality, Anielle Franco, who has not yet commented.

“I repudiate these accusations with the strength of love and respect that I have for my wife and my beloved 1-year-old daughter, in the midst of the struggle that I wage, daily, in favor of human rights and citizenship in this country,” said Almeida. “Each and every complaint must have materiality. However, what I perceive are absurd inferences with the sole intention of harming me, erasing our struggles and stories, and blocking our future,” he said.

“False accusations, as defined in article 339 of the Penal Code, constitute false accusations. Such defamation will not be supported by reality. According to recent movements, it is clear that there is a campaign to harm my image as a black man in a prominent position in public power, but these will not be successful. This proves the low and vile nature of social sectors committed to backwardness, lies and the attempt to silence the voice of the Brazilian people, regardless of partisan views,” declared the Minister of Human Rights.

“Once again, there is a group that wants to erase and diminish our existence, attributing to me the behaviors that they practice. With this, Brazil loses, the human rights agenda loses, racial equality loses and the Brazilian people lose,” said Silvio Almeida.

He said he would request investigations by the Office of the Comptroller General, the Ministry of Justice and the Office of the Attorney General on the matter. “Any and all complaints must be investigated to the fullest extent of the law, but for this to happen, the facts must be exposed so that they can be investigated and prosecuted. And not just based on lies, without evidence,” the text states. “Any distortions of reality will be discovered and will be held accountable,” the minister declared.

The NGO Me Too Brazil confirmed earlier that it had received reports of sexual harassment allegedly committed by the Minister of Human Rights. “As is often the case in cases of sexual violence involving perpetrators in positions of power, these victims faced difficulties in obtaining institutional support to validate their complaints. In light of this, they authorized the confirmation of the case to the press,” the organization stated.