The Minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) Luís Roberto Barroso determined that the Attorney General’s Office, the Military Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security and the Regional Superintendence of the Federal Police of Roraima should investigate a possible participation of authorities from the Jair Bolsonaro government in the practice, in theory, of the crimes of genocide, disobedience, breach of secrecy of justice, and environmental crimes related to the life, health and safety of various indigenous communities.
In a process that is being conducted in secrecy, Barroso requests that documents be sent to the authorities that, in his understanding, “suggest a picture of absolute insecurity of the indigenous peoples involved, as well as the occurrence of action or omission, partial or total, by the authorities federal authorities, aggravating this situation”.
In the dispatch, the minister cited as examples a publication made in the Official Gazette of the Union by the then Minister of Justice and Public Security, Anderson Torres, containing the date and place of a secret operation to intervene in indigenous lands and evidence of changes in planning, in the moment of the performance, by the Brazilian Air Force, of Operation Jacareacanga, which would have resulted in an alert to prospectors, compromising the efficiency of the action. For Barroso, these facts represented a “very serious and worrying picture”, as well as the alleged commission of several crimes with the participation of high-ranking federal authorities.
Regarding the Claim of Non-compliance with a Fundamental Precept (ADPF) 709, the minister reiterated the order to withdraw all illegal mining from the Yanomami, Karipuna, Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau, Kayapó, Arariboia, Mundurucu and Trincheira Bacajá Indigenous Lands. The action deals with the protection of indigenous peoples during the covid-19 pandemic, based on a request for measures presented by the Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil (Apib). In the order, the minister determines that the areas in the most serious situation are prioritized. According to him, the strategy supposedly adopted previously, of “stifling” the logistics of these mines, had no effect.
In the request for measures presented by Apib, the association reported the situation of a very serious humanitarian crisis of the Yanomami indigenous people, with malnutrition, high malaria transmission and high mortality, in addition to great environmental contamination of rivers in the region by the mercury used in illegal mining.
As it was a matter of complying with a judicial measure, Barroso also determined the opening of budget credit to carry out the measures and the adoption of urgent and necessary measures to preserve the life, health and safety of indigenous communities at risk.
The minister gave the Union 30 consecutive days to present a diagnosis of the situation of the indigenous communities, planning and respective schedule for the execution of pending decisions.
* With information from the STF website
