Brazil Supreme Court Justice suspends operation that arrested Senate police

Supreme Court (STF) Justice Teori Zavascki suspended this Thursday (Oct. 27), through an injunction, the operation launched by the Federal Police that arrested Senate security officers last Friday (21). The justice also ruled that the case concerning the operation that is at Distrito Federal federal court shall be transferred to the Supreme Court.

The head of Senate police, Pedro Ricardo Araújo de Carvalho, was arrested during the operation, along with three other congressional police officers, suspect of carrying out counterintelligence activities to help senators investigated for corruption as part of the Operation Car Wash and other political scandals. They were all released.   

Teori Zavascki granted the injunction after examining the request made by Antônio Tavares dos Santos Neto, one of the police officers arrested. The officer's defense argued that there has been a judicial usurpation of power of the Supreme Court in the action that authorized the search and seizure in the Senate premises, in addition to involving investigations that can affect lawmakers.

In the injunction, Zavascki also said it was evident the operation's intention to investigate lawmakers who have jurisdictional prerogative rights and, thus, can only be investigated when authorized by the Supreme Court.

Translated by Amarílis Anchieta