Chamber Plenary decides to keep Brazão in prison – 04/10/2024 – Power

The plenary of the Chamber of Deputies approved on Wednesday night (10), by 277 to 129 votes, the maintenance of the arrest of deputy Chiquinho Brazão (no party-RJ), arrested on suspicion of being one of the masterminds behind the murder of the councilor Marielle Franco (PSOL-RJ), in 2018. There were 28 abstentions.

The parliamentarians’ decision is a victory for the base of the Lula government (PT) and for the STF (Supreme Federal Court), after days of uncertainty about what the result of the vote would be due to the centrão’s efforts to overturn the detention.

Shortly before voting began in the plenary, the president of the House, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), called party leaders to a meeting to explain how the process would take place. It was agreed that only the parties would guide the benches, without leadership time, and that the voting panel would remain open for 30 minutes. The Lula (PT) government had signaled that it would advise in favor of maintaining the prison.

Earlier, the House’s CCJ (Constitution and Justice Commission) had already given approval to the maintenance of the prison, by 39 to 25 votes — the result showed a division between the centrão parties and a PL unit (to reject the request for prison) and left-wing parties (to keep him in prison).

Until a few minutes before the start of voting in the collegiate body, there was uncertainty among government parliamentarians whether there would be enough votes to approve the report by deputy Darci de Matos (PSD-SC).

This is because, behind the scenes, deputies claimed that the decision by Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes to have the parliamentarian arrested violated the Constitution, which provides that deputies can only be arrested in the act for a non-bailable crime. Members of the centrão and allies of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) defended using the case to give a message to the magistrate.

Another point they mentioned was that they did not have enough evidence against Brazão and that it would be a mistake to support the arrest that would have been ordered only based on a plea bargain.

Furthermore, there was a fear that this case could set a precedent for others in the future and, therefore, they advocated caution on the topic.

Lawyer Cleber Lopes, who works in Brazão’s defense, criticized the conditions of the parliamentarian’s prison and stated that he would not participate in the session because there was no internet connection at that time in the prison.

“We are experiencing barbarity, psychological torture imposed on this parliamentarian. My client is in prison for an accusation that I cannot have access to. He cannot participate in this session because he has no connection, he is deprived of participating in this act”, he stated.

One of the main leaders of the center and leader of União Brasil in the Chamber, Elmar Nascimento (BA) declared a vote against maintaining the prison on Tuesday (9), and began to hold a hand-to-hand meeting with parliamentarians defending his position. To interlocutors, he stated that it was necessary to have courage to defend the deputies.

Nascimento is a close ally of Lira and one of the most likely to succeed him in 2025.

On the other hand, members of the government base countered their colleagues’ criticisms and said that releasing Brazão would represent a sign of impunity. They were betting that because it was an open vote (when it is recorded how each parliamentarian voted), the deputies would be embarrassed to take a stance against the arrest.