October 3, 2018

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The political persecution towards former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and the Workers’ Party is increasingly evident. Judge Sérgio Moro is responsible for numerous arbitrary and illegal interferences in the Brazilian political process. The breach of the confidentiality of Antonio Palocci’s denunciation six days after the first round of elections is yet another.

In March 2016, on the eve of the unjustified impeachment process aiming president-elect Dilma Rousseff, Moro illegally leaked clandestine recordings to Globo Television Network, with dialogues of Mrs. Marisa Letícia with her children and other relatives, conversations without any procedural relevance, but broadcasted with fuss by the different companies of the communication conglomerate of the Marinho family.

The interception of former President Lula’s personal telephones continued, despite Moro’s court order, which ordered the suspension of the procedures that the judge had previously authorized. It was therefore a staple without judicial support, that is, illegal recording of the Federal Police of personal conversations of a former president of the Republic.

In July this year, three months after Lula’s political imprisonment, Judge Rogerio Favreto granted Lula freedom in habeas corpus. Moro interrupted his vacation in Portugal to illegally interfere with Lula, calling the Federal Police and ordering the noncompliance from a court order.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s lawyer, Cristiano Zanin, said at the time that Sérgio Moro, a judge of the lower court, acted “without jurisdiction” and could not have acted “strategically to prevent the release” President.

“When you have a judge of first instance, and which is on vacation, and no longer have jurisdiction over the case, acting to prevent compliance with a decision rendered by a higher court that re-established the freedom of former President Lula, is very worrying and incompatible with due process” Zanin said.

For former President Lula’s defense, the fact reinforces Moro’s persecution to the former president. “Lula was not entitled to a fair, impartial and independent trial. He was tried by someone who is even interested in keeping the former president under arrest despite not having committed any crime” Zanin said.

In August 2018, Moro, as a good politician, acted guided by the electoral calendar and decided to postpone the date of the deposition of the former president and 12 other defendants in the action of the site of Atibaia. The judge said that the amendment aims to “prevent the electoral exploitation of interrogations”.

In a statement, Lula’s defense stated that “a criminal proceeding could never have its acts guided by the electoral calendar. The change in the dates of the testimony, however, shows that the electoral issue has always been and is present in the actions against former President Lula that are being processed in Curitiba, “said Cristiano Zanin Martins, former president Lula’s lawyer.

Now, six days before the first round of presidential elections, Judge Sérgio Moro returns to act politically and raises the secrecy of Antonio Palocci’s award-winning accolade, with the clear objective of trying to cause political effects for Lula and his allies. Such accolade was rejected by the Public Prosecutor’s Office for lack of evidence, but even so, it was not only confirmed by the Federal Police, but is serving as a “silver bullet” attempt on the eve of the elections. The judge himself acknowledges that he cannot take such testimony into consideration in the criminal proceedings. Added to this is the fact that the accusatory hypothesis was destroyed by the evidence constituted in the records, including by expert reports. The conduct adopted by Moro reinforces the political character of the lawsuits and the unjust condemnation imposed on former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Palocci, for his part, lied once more, without presenting any evidence about Lula, to obtain generous benefits ranging from a substantial reduction of his sentence – 2/3, with the possibility of “judicial pardon” – to the maintenance of a substantial part of the values found in his bank accounts.

Palocci’s lying allegiance was negotiated with the Federal Police in exchange for a reduction of two-thirds of his sentence, including judicial forfeiture, of the return of $ 37 million, which is less than half of what would have been blocked in his accounts, according to the press, and the preservation of all family properties.

 

lula.com.br