Gov't refuses having resorted to intelligence to spy on top court justice

The Planalto Palace, head of the Brazilian government, issued a note saying President Michel Temer has never resorted to the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (ABIN) to investigate into the life of Supreme Court (STF) Justice Edson Fachin.

“The government does not make use of its apparatus against Brazilian citizens, nor will it take any measure disrespecting what has been strictly stipulated by the law,” says the note released in response to a news report published yesterday (Jun 9) in magazine Veja. The story mentions one of the president's advisers as its source, who chose to remain anonymous.

The note also says that ABIN has fulfilled its duties according to the principles of the rule of law. “There is not, nor has there been, at any moment, any intention on the government's part, to hinder Operation Car Wash,” the note goes on to read.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Cármen Lúcia also expressed her opinion about the Veja article. In a note issued Saturday (10), the justice says “this most serious crime against the Supreme Court is unacceptable,” if the information disclosed is confirmed. According to her, the practice is “typical of dictatorships” and more harmful if conducted against “the responsible efforts of a judge.”

“If confirmed at any moment, the legal, political, and institutional consequences will be as far-reaching as the violation committed. The Brazilian constitution will be observed and will prevail so that rights and liberties are ensured, citizens respected and justice effected,” she states.

Brazil's Prosecutor-General Rodrigo Janot also published a note saying he was “perplexed” to be told of the alleged use of ABIN services to spy on Justice Edson Fachin. In Janot's view, Fachin “has based his work on impartiality and responsibility.”

“If this assault on the powers of the republic and the rule of law is confirmed to be true, we would have yet another instance of the grave representation crisis facing the country,” Janot says. In his view, if the news is proved accurate, “instead of initiatives to strengthen democracy in compliance with the wishes of the Brazilian people, exceptional practices are carried out.”

Janot says there is an abysmal difference between an investigation conducted in accordance with the law and using the state's apparatus to thwart the efforts of the authorities and “denigrate their image and that of the institutions to which they belong.” This practice, Janot goes on to say, would undermine ABIN and Brazilians' rights and guarantees, and is therefore deplored by the Prosecution Service.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira