Prosecutor general asks to void pro-Bolsonaro lawmaker’s conviction

Brazil’s Federal Prosecution Office requested that Congressman Daniel Silveira’s sentence for threatening Supreme Court justices be voided, in the latest development of a saga that has deepened President Jair Bolsonaro’s conflict with the Judiciary.  

Back in April, Mr. Silveira lost his political rights and was sentenced to almost nine years in prison by the Supreme Court for threatening to attack the Court’s judges on social media. Mr. Bolsonaro promptly and controversially granted the lawmaker a presidential pardon — a move destined to shield an ally as much as to taunt the Supreme Court.

After Mr. Silveira’s defense requested that the Supreme Court recognize the presidential pardon, Justice Alexandre de Moraes passed the case on to the attorney general’s office for analysis.

Now, deputy attorney general Lindôra Maria Araújo has requested that the effects of President Bolsonaro’s pardon be recognized, that Mr. Silveira’s sentence be annulled, and that the precautionary measures taken against him be lifted.

“The presidential decree is existent, valid, and effective, while the use of the benefits from the pardon granted is pending, awaiting the due judicial decision that voids the sentence,” Ms. Araújo wrote in a document addressed to Justice Moraes, who is rapporteur on the case.  

Amongst other requirements, Mr. Silveira must currently use an ankle monitor and is banned from giving interviews to the press or using social media. He has already been fined three times by Justice Moraes for failing to comply with court orders. 

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