Brazil’s Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes warned Wednesday that financial fines and prison sentences will be imposed for those who organize and participate in road blockades, on the eve of new protests by supporters of Jair Bolsonaro, following Sunday’s attacks.
De Moraes, whose figure as a judge emerges stronger from this crisis after months of attacks by Bolsonaro and his supporters, has warned that those who fail to comply with his decision could face fines of up to 20,000 reais (3,500 euros) for individuals and 100,000 reais (17,800) for legal entities.
«Local authorities must arrest anyone who occupies and obstructs urban roads or highways, or invades public buildings; (…) they must identify and seize the vehicles used in the events and their owners and (…) block social media channels where these acts are called for,» it says.
His decision is motivated by a complaint from the Prosecutor’s Office warning of new mobilizations that for the Supreme Court judge are a sign that there is «a criminal organization» that «in collusion» with the authorities has been regularly in Brasilia and other states demonstrating against the electoral result.
De Moraes does not rule out that acts like those of Sunday could happen again if the authorities do not take the necessary measures. In that sense, he has denounced that the violent acts reached «intolerable» heights with full «shamelessness and guarantees of impunity» while being broadcast through social networks.
For his part, the new head of security in Brasilia, Ricardo Cappelli, ruled out on Wednesday that the capital could again suffer the vandalism and violence of Monday and promised to reinforce the protocols in the Esplanade of the Ministries and apply the full weight of the law against possible offenders.
«There is no hypothesis of a repetition of what happened in the capital,» said Cappelli, who warned that while free demonstration is respected, this right should not be confused with the attack on democracy.
However, he ordered the closure of the Esplanade of the Ministries for this Wednesday in view of the possibility that the demonstrations planned for this day could lead to acts of vandalism and violence, one in the vicinity of the Buriti Palace, seat of the Executive of Brasilia, and another in the area of Sunday.
In this sense, he explained that there would be controls and that the protests will be supervised and directed at all times so that they do not go off the beaten track and ruled out the possibility of arrests as long as those who attend behave peacefully.
Cappelli has confirmed that the Esplanade of the Ministries will be manned by an additional National Force, whose special presence in the capital has been extended for another ten days. «All security forces are mobilized, on maximum alert, throughout the day,» he stressed.
In response to the criticism that the police forces have received for their alleged indolence, if not connivance, towards the assailants, Cappelli blamed it on a lack of leadership due to the fact that the person who replaced him, Anderson Torres, is in the United States and is now wanted by the authorities.
«The men of the Military Police are the same who participated in the exemplary operation of January 1st at the inauguration of President Lula, what changed between January 1st and January 8th was that Mr. Anderson Torres assumed the secretariat on January 2nd. He dismissed a good part of the command of the secretariat and traveled to the United States, even without being on vacation», he argued.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
