The Federal Police (PF) indicted this Friday (16) the former Minister of Justice Anderson Torres, the former general director of the Federal Highway Police (PRF) Silvinei Vasques, in addition to four police officers on suspicion of trying to prevent the movement of voters in the Northeast, during the second round of the 2022 elections.
According to the investigations, they gave illegal orders and acted so that the PRF carried out operations aimed at hindering the movement of voters of then-candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on October 30, 2022, the day of the second round of the elections, won by the PT candidate, in the dispute against then-president Jair Bolsonaro, who was seeking re-election.
The request for indictment was confirmed by the report of Brazil Agency and is included in a partial report sent by the Federal Police to the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), which will now analyze whether the evidence of a crime is consistent enough to report those involved to the courts, whether to order further investigations or whether to request the case be closed, in case of lack of evidence. The Federal Police continues to investigate and has requested more time to carry out the investigations.
In addition to Torres and Silvinei, four other federal police officers who worked at the Ministry of Justice were indicted: Alfredo de Souza Lima Coelho Carrijo, Fernando de Sousa Oliveira, Leo Garrido de Salles Meira and Marília Ferreira de Alencar. All are being investigated for the crime under article 359-P of the Penal Code, which deals with political violence, for attempting to restrict, prevent or hinder the exercise of the political rights of third parties.
Police operations
The operations under investigation were carried out in the form of police checkpoints on highways and roads. They were concentrated in the Northeast region, where Lula was leading in the polls. The aim was to benefit then-president Jair Bolsonaro by preventing potential Lula voters from reaching polling stations.
According to data from the investigation, the number of PRF officers in the second round of the elections was greater in the Northeast than in other regions of the country. On October 30, the number of officers used was 795, while 230 were employed in the North, 381 in the Central-West, 418 in the South and 528 in the Southeast.
The number of buses stopped by inspection was also above average compared to other regions of the country. In the Northeast, the total reached 2,185 vehicles. In the other states, there were 310 (North); 571 (Southeast), 632 (South) and 893 (Central-West).
The Federal Police also found on the cell phone of Marília Alencar, former advisor to former Justice Minister Anderson Torres and one of the indicted, photos showing the mapping of municipalities where President Lula received a lot of votes. They are photos of a panel with the title “Concentration Greater than or equal to 75% – Lula”.
Prisons
Last week, Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), ordered the release of the former general director of the Federal Highway Police (PRF) Silvinei Vasques, who was imprisoned for about a year precisely because of suspicions of using the corporation to hinder the displacement of voters.
When ordering Vasques’ release, Moraes wrote that the reasons that led to his preventive detention no longer exist, given the advanced stage of the investigations. He ordered the adoption of alternative measures, including the use of an electronic ankle bracelet, a ban on using social media and the obligation to report to court periodically.
Former Minister Anderson Torres was arrested for four monthsbetween January and May of this year, also by order of the STF. The detention, however, was related to the investigations into the coup acts of January 8. At the time, Torres was in charge of the Federal District’s Security Secretariat, after having left the position of Minister of Justice with the end of the Bolsonaro government. The investigation at the STF is looking into alleged omission in containing the acts.
Defense
When contacted by the press, Silvinei Vasques’ defense stated that his client’s conduct cannot be classified as a criminal offense attributed by the PF in the investigation, and that he trusts that the case will be archived by the Attorney General’s Office.
“The accusation against Silvinei does not fit into that serious crime of 359-P of the Penal Code, because political preference is not found in the criminal type. The subject can only be criminally punished if his conduct is described in the criminal type, and this issue of political preference is not an element of the type [penal]. Forcibly, [no máximo] “It would be a crime of malfeasance, if the fact had existed, which is a crime of three months to a year. The defense is calm and trusts the analysis of the PGR”, said lawyer Eduardo Nostrani Simão.
THE Brazil Agency seeks contact with the defenses of Anderson Torres and the other indicted people.
