The Chamber of Deputies approved today (17) the Bill (PL) 9432/17 that modifies the Military Penal Code (PL 9432/17). Among other points, the project brings changes in penalties and typification of crimes, includes the crime of drug trafficking in the code and provides that military personnel will respond in common justice for sexual crimes or crimes committed with domestic and family violence against women, provided that “in place not subject to military administration”. The text now goes to the Senate for analysis.
Before the vote, the rapporteur, Deputy General Peternelli (PSL-SP), presented a global substitutive amendment to the project, removing from the text the so-called “illegal exclusions”, from the extra definitions for self-defense. The removal of the section made it possible to vote by consensus on the project.
The excluded passage determined that there would be no crime when a soldier acted to prevent “unjust and imminent aggression against the law” during an armed confrontation. Peternelli argued that he removed the passage because the exclusion had already been rejected in the Chamber during the vote on the so-called “Anti-Crime Package”.
“We accept proposals for the removal of two articles on self-defense, we accept other suggestions”, he said.
The rapporteur also included an amendment for cases of sexual, domestic and family violence against women to be judged by the common justice as long as they do not occur “in a place not subject to military administration”.
Representative Erika Kokay (PT-DF) said that the inclusion of the amendment was an advance in the defense of women’s rights and helped in the consensual vote on the project.
“Even if it is a crime committed by the military and the victim is a soldier, even in these circumstances we cannot prevent legislation, such as the Maria da Penha Law and existing legislation, from being applied and that this is not considered a military crime with appreciation of the Military Justice. We believe this is an important advance in the fight for the defense of women’s rights”, said the deputy.
The rapporteur also excluded from the Military Penal Code the provision of imprisonment from two months to one year if the military publicly criticizes any government resolution. According to him, this change is justified because “the Constitution establishes freedom of expression as a fundamental right”.
The bill also provides for imprisonment from five years to 15 years for drug trafficking, which was not included in the previous version of the code. On Tuesday (15th), the Union Military Justice sentenced Air Force sergeant Manoel Silva Rodrigues to 14 years and six months in prison for drug trafficking. The sergeant was caught with 37 kilos of pure cocaine in Seville, the capital of Spain, when he disembarked from a military aircraft in 2019. As the Military Penal Code did not provide for international drug crime, Rodrigues was convicted under the Drug Law.
In addition, the bill also punishes military personnel who report to service under the influence of a narcotic substance with imprisonment of up to five years, the same penalty applied today for the crime of producing or selling drugs in an area under military management.
Deputy Sublieutenant Gonzaga (PDT-MG) defended the update of the 1969 code. According to Gonzaga, the initiative is an old demand of the military.
“This update of the code is a demand from all organs of the Armed Forces, the Superior Court of Military Justice, the state military justices, the military police and the Fire Departments”, he explained.
