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| Photo: Gil Ferreira / CNJ Agency |
On Friday, July 12th, Supreme Court (STF) Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the release of Valdir de Souza, a 57-year-old general services assistant, after the defense informed the STF of an error in Souza's electronic monitoring, detained on January 8th. Souza will now resume complying with judicial orders at home, as he did previously.
Moraes had ordered Souza's imprisonment in the Juara Public Jail (MT) on June 28th due to an alleged violation of a precautionary measure.
According to Silvia Girardelli, Souza's lawyer, the justice system deactivated the electronic ankle bracelet without notifying her client.
“The arrest was due to an error in the monitoring system,” Silvia told Oeste, adding that during the 15 days he was detained, Souza had his bank accounts frozen. “My client earns R$2,000 per month. He was very psychologically shaken because he did not violate any precautionary measures.”
Detained at the camp in front of the Army General Headquarters (QG) in Brasília, Souza is complying with precautionary measures. He will need to continue doing so until he accepts the non-prosecution agreement (ANPP) from the Attorney General's Office or is tried by the STF.
According to Silvia, Souza does not intend to accept the ANPP. This benefit is only offered to those detained at the QG. Those who accept must admit to crimes, agree to pay a fine, and take a “course on democracy.”
Decision by Alexandre de Moraes on the detainee
In the order releasing Souza, Moraes cited the monitoring system error. “The lack of communication between the monitoring center and the monitored device indicates an episodic violation of one of the precautionary measures and may be due to problems with the equipment itself,” wrote the minister.
Additionally, Moraes stated: “Given that the defendant has indeed complied with the other imposed precautionary measures and that the indicated violation, besides being isolated, appears to have been caused by technical problems, it is not necessary to maintain the extreme precautionary measure at this time.”
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