12/09/2024 – 22:02
Minister André Mendonça, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), was appointed rapporteur for the request for an investigation by the Federal Police into alleged cases of sexual harassment involving Silvio Almeida, former Minister of Human Rights and Citizenship. Almeida denies the accusations.
It will be up to Mendonça to decide whether the Supreme Court has jurisdiction to judge the matter, since the events allegedly occurred while Almeida was holding a ministerial position. If the minister decides otherwise, the investigation should be forwarded to the first instance.
The PF’s decision to forward the case to the Supreme Court before formalizing the investigation is intended to avoid future questions or attempts to invalidate the investigation. The view of the corporation, which sent all the elements collected by the preliminary investigation to the Supreme Court, is that there is sufficient evidence to officially open the investigation.
One of the alleged victims was interviewed by the Federal Police on Tuesday, the 10th. The woman, who voluntarily sought out the police, gave a statement remotely and gave a detailed account. For the police, her statement is in line with others that have emerged about the former minister, which could constitute a pattern.
The NGO Me Too Brasil, which gathered the complaints made against Almeida and published a statement on Thursday, the 5th, confirming them, was also subpoenaed by the Federal Police. Founded in 2019, the organization supports victims of sexual violence and offers support to women who wish to formalize their complaints. In addition to the organization, universities where the professor worked were also notified.
The allegations against Almeida were revealed by the Metrópoles website, which mentioned that the Minister of Racial Equality, Anielle Franco, was among the victims. One day after the story came to light, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) fired him.
THE State found that members of the government had been aware of reports about the case for at least three months. The complaint reached the Planalto Palace, but was not taken forward because Anielle did not formalize it, under the justification that she did not want to harm the government.
Almeida continues to deny the accusations. In a statement published shortly after his dismissal, the former minister stated that he asked the president to dismiss him, “in order to grant freedom and impartiality to the investigations, which must be carried out with the necessary rigor and that they can support and welcome each and every victim of violence. It will be an opportunity for me to prove my innocence and rebuild myself.”
Anielle Franco, in turn, published a note on social media praising the government’s decision and criticizing those who downplay episodes of violence.
Silvio Almeida was the fourth minister to resign since the beginning of Lula’s government. He and the former head of the Institutional Security Office (GSI) Gonçalves Dias were the only ones dismissed due to allegations published in the press. Minas Gerais state deputy Macaé Evaristo (PT) replaced him as head of the Human Rights portfolio.
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