Outgoing Justice Minister Flávio Dino said on Tuesday he could not confirm or deny press reports about an alleged new plea bargain in the Marielle Franco case.
Ms. Franco, a member of the left-wing Socialism and Freedom Party (Psol), and her driver, Anderson Gomes, were shot dead in Rio de Janeiro on the night of March 14, 2018. The case made international headlines.
In 2023, former police officer Élcio Queiroz confessed to participating as the driver in the double homicide. Ronnie Lessa, also a former police officer, was charged as the drive-by shooter. Unconfirmed press reports on Tuesday claimed he is also negotiating a plea bargain and allegedly pointed to the man who ordered the crime.
Both men have been in custody since 2019, awaiting trial.
In a press conference, Mr. Dino once again claimed responsibility for bringing the Federal Police into the Marielle Franco case, in cooperation with prosecutors in the state of Rio de Janeiro. He said a plea bargain is only confirmed after being reviewed by a judge. “I cannot confirm what I don’t know”, he said.
Mr. Dino expressed hope that the case will be concluded under his appointed successor, Ricardo Lewandowski, who will take office next week as the new Justice Minister. Mr. Dino is leaving the ministry to take office as a Supreme Court justice.
A few weeks before her murder, Ms. Franco had been chosen to be the rapporteur of a city council committee to oversee the federal security intervention in Rio ordered by then-President Michel Temer. Jair Bolsonaro was the only presidential candidate at the time who did not condemn Ms. Franco’s assassination.
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