New Lava Jato judge revoked all restrictions on the former governor of Rio, the last politician arrested in the operation to leave the regime closed
The titular judge of the 13th Federal Court of Curitiba, Eduardo Fernando Appio, declared the nullity of the Operation Lava Jato proceedings against the former governor of Rio de Janeiro Sergio Cabral. Appio considered the lack of impartiality of the then judge responsible for the cases and current senator Sergio Moro (União Brasil-PR) in the judgments. Here’s the full (219 KB) of the decision, published this Tuesday (May 2, 2023).
Appio revoked Cabral’s preventive detention, as well as any restriction that limits the former governor’s rights. He was the last known politician convicted in Lava Jato to leave the closed regime. On February 9, the TRF-2 (Federal Regional Court of the 2nd Region) had already reversed his house arrest for milder precautionary measures.
Moro was considered partial in different proceedings against President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) in Lava Jato, by the STF (Federal Supreme Court). Learn more in this report.
Now, the MPF (Federal Public Ministry) of Paraná also questions the impartiality of Appio da Vara of Curitiba. The judge used the initials “LUL22” as identification in the electronic system of Justice processes, the e-proc. The information was published by the newspaper The globe on February 25th and confirmed by Power360.
Cabral’s defense, represented by lawyers Patrícia Proetti and Carlos Eduardo Frazão, considered with this Tuesday’s decision that “this is a big step in defense of due process of law and the democratic rule of law“.
“The decision needs the judgment of the 13th Federal Court of Curitiba, which recognized the partiality with which former judge Moro conducted the criminal action against the former governor, after Minister Ricardo Lewandowski authorized the use of public evidence arising from Operation Spoofting”, said the lawyers in a note.
The senator published the following note: “I inform you that the Federal Regional Court of the 4th Region confirmed on appeal the conviction of Sérgio Cabral for corruption in the Lava Jato operation. Therefore, the current magistrate reformed a decision of the court to which he is bound and subordinate“.
CONVICTIONS
On February 1, another decision that maintained Cabral’s house arrest was revoked by the TRF-2, in the course of Operation Efficiency. Cabral had been sentenced to 20 years, 4 months and 21 days in prison. The former governor obtained the repeal of preventive detention under house arrest in November.
In December, the 2nd panel of the STF (Federal Supreme Court) revoked Cabral’s arrest related to the former governor’s convictions based on the Lava Jato operation, in investigations into alleged bribes received in the works of Petrobras’ Rio de Janeiro Petrochemical Complex. The criminal actions against Cabral add up to more than 430 years in prison, in 23 convictions. The former governor was the last known politician denounced in Lava Jato who continued in a closed regime.
Cabral was arrested in November 2016 and held in a closed regime at the Special Prison Battalion of the Military Police, in Niterói, in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro. The investigation investigated misuse of public resources by a criminal organization, which would be commanded by Cabral, in works carried out by the government of Rio de Janeiro. The estimated damage to public coffers exceeds R$ 220 million.
In November of this year, the 5th Criminal Chamber of the TJ-RJ (Court of Justice of Rio de Janeiro) unanimously revoked 2 preventive arrest warrants against Cabral. As a result, of the 5 arrest warrants against the former governor, 4 had been revoked and 2 had been converted into house arrest with an electronic anklet.
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