STF maintains annulment of the conviction of Garotinho, pre-candidate in RJ

The STF (Supreme Federal Court) upheld the annulment of the conviction of Anthony Garotinho (Republicans) for buying votes in the 2016 municipal elections, following a request for an appeal from the PGR (Attorney General's Office). Garotinho is a pre-candidate for the government of Rio de Janeiro.

In March this year, minister Cristiano Zanin decided to annul the former governor's conviction. The PGR (Attorney General's Office), however, appealed the magistrate's decision.

Zanin argued that the evidence used to convict the former governor had illicit origins.

The PGR's appeal referenced a decision by the Second Panel of the Court which, in 2022, had already rejected a defense request similar to the one accepted by Zanin.

Garotinho's conviction resulted from investigations by Operation Chequinho, which investigated the expansion of the "Cheque Cidadão" social benefit in exchange for votes for Rosinha Garotinho, wife of the former governor.

At the time, the evidence that led to the conviction was obtained from the extraction of data from a computer at the Municipal Department of Human and Social Development of Campos dos Goytacazes. However, Zanin understood that "the original environment was not preserved for forensic examination", and, therefore, "it is not possible to ensure the authenticity of the information elements collected using a pendrive".

Despite having annulled other convictions in the operation for the same reason, in the 2022 decision, the then minister Ricardo Lewandowski understood that the decision could not be extended to Garotinho, who had also been convicted of other crimes in a separate process.

Zanin understands that "the fact that the beneficiaries were convicted in different criminal actions does not prevent the recognition, in their favor, of the same nullity".

The appeal presented by the PGR criticized the "rejudgment of the request", stating that the decision contradicted the STF's understanding. The decision not to accept the appeal was endorsed by the current Second Panel of the Supreme Court. The only vote against came from minister Luiz Fux.

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*Under supervision of Lucas Schroeder

Source: CNN