Former employee of councilor Gabriel Monteiro (PL), Luiza Caroline Bezerra Batista, 26, testified today (31) at the Council of Ethics and Parliamentary Decorum of the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro in an ethical disciplinary process that investigates the councilor, former military policeman and youtuber for breach of parliamentary decorum.
“The witness reported several cases of moral harassment at the beginning, which escalated to sexual harassment. She did not bring any new facts in relation to what had been previously told in testimony to the police, listing everything that was done”, said the president of the Ethics Council, councilor Alexandre Isquierdo (União).
Isquierdo also highlighted the impartial performance of the Ethics Council throughout the process. “At no time has the defense been curtailed by anything. This council has been fully responsible, impartial, and has guaranteed ample defense to councilor Gabriel Monteiro, without having any type of corporatism,” he declared.
Regarding threats that were being made to witnesses, the parliamentarian said that the House has offered support to intercede with security institutions and guarantee the protection of deponents. Isquierdo announced that the council will ask the Civil Police for access to the investigation launched to investigate the causes of death of former advisor Vinícius Hayden, victim of a car accident on the road that connects Teresópolis to Nova Friburgo, in the mountainous region of Rio, on Saturday. (28).
The Civil Police of Rio reported this Sunday (29), in a note, that “everything indicates that Vinícius Hayden lost his direction when entering a curve in the highway”. The former advisor was the one who denounced Monteiro for the practice of moral and sexual harassment. Hayden when giving evidence last week to the Ethics Board was wearing a black coat and a bulletproof vest underneath.
Next steps
The Ethics Council will meet again this Thursday (2) to start the testimonies of witnesses defending Gabriel Monteiro. The forecast is that the hearings will take place on the 7th, 8th, 9th and 14th of June.
Once the defense is presented, the investigation phase of the process begins, for a period of up to 30 days, renewable for another 15 days. Once the instruction is completed, the rapporteur gives an opinion within five working days, concluding that the representation is valid or that it is archived. If the opinion is based on the merits of the complaint, a period of five days is opened for the presentation of final arguments by the defense of the accused.
The rapporteur’s opinion is submitted to the Ethics Council for deliberation within five working days, being considered approved if it obtains an absolute majority of the votes of its members. Once the process in the council has been completed, with a favorable opinion on the complaint, the process is forwarded to the Board of Directors and included in the Agenda.
The punishment is decided in an open vote in the plenary, with the right to speak by the parliamentarians and the defense during the session, decided by two thirds of the councilors (34 votes) in case of cassation or absolute majority in case of suspension.
