The Federal Police (PF) reported this Friday (6) that it will investigate allegations of alleged sexual harassment against the Minister of Human Rights and Citizenship, Silvio Almeida. According to the corporation’s press office, more information about the case will be released at the appropriate time.
Almeida had already been called on Thursday night (5) to provide clarifications to the Comptroller General of the Union, Vinícius Carvalho, and to the Attorney General of the Union, Jorge Messias, due to the allegations published by the press. call was confirmed by the Secretariat of Social Communication of the Presidency of the Republic (Secom).
In a statement, Secom reported that the minister himself will send a letter to the Comptroller General of the Union (CGU), the Ministry of Justice and Public Security and the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) so that they can investigate the case. Also according to the statement, the Ethics Committee of the Presidency of the Republic decided to open proceedings to investigate the allegations.
“The federal government recognizes the seriousness of the allegations. The case is being handled with the rigor and speed that situations involving possible violence against women require,” the secretariat concluded.
Understand
A report from website Metrópoles published on Thursday afternoon (5) states that Silvio Almeida was reported to the Me Too Brazil organization for alleged episodes of sexual harassment against women. According to the article, the Minister of Racial Equality, Anielle Franco, would be among the minister’s victims.
In a statement, Me Too Brasil confirmed that it had been contacted by women who reported alleged episodes of sexual harassment committed by the minister.
“The organization defending women victims of sexual violence, Me Too Brasil, confirms, with the consent of the victims, that it received complaints of sexual harassment against Minister Silvio Almeida.”
As of Friday morning (6), Minister Anielle Franco had not commented on the allegations. On her Bluesky profile (a platform similar to X, formerly Twitter) and on the social network Instagram, First Lady Janja Lula da Silva posted a photo in which she appears kissing Anielle on the forehead. The image, however, does not have any type of caption.
Defense
In a statement released to the press, Silvio Almeida says he repudiates “with absolute vehemence” the accusations, which he referred to as “lies” and “absurd inferences” with the aim of harming him.
“I repudiate such accusations with the strength of love and respect that I have for my wife and my beloved 1-year-old daughter, in the midst of the struggle that I wage, daily, in favor of human rights and citizenship in this country.”
In the statement, the minister assessed that “each and every complaint must have materiality” and declared himself saddened by the entire situation.
“It hurts my soul. Once again, there is a group that wants to erase and diminish our existence, attributing to me the behaviors that they practice. With this, Brazil loses, the human rights agenda loses, racial equality loses and the Brazilian people lose.”