The UN Human Rights Committee (United Nations) concluded that former judge Sergio Moro was biased in his decision regarding the cases brought against former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT) in the context of Operation Carwash. The ruling, which will be released tomorrow, is the first international crackdown on the former Justice Minister of Jair Bolsonaro’s government. The body also concluded that Lula’s political rights had been violated in 2018, when he was banned from running in elections.

After six years of analysis in Geneva, the decision has become legally binding, and since Brazil has ratified international treaties, the state has an obligation to follow the advice. But without a way to force countries to take measures or penalties against governments, the committee knows that many of its decisions risk being ignored.

In the Brazilian case, the Federal Supreme Court (STF) has already considered that Moro acted in part and overturned the convictions. However, the recommendations have not yet been issued by the UN committee and may require action to be taken to repair the damage Lula has suffered.

The Committee is responsible for overseeing compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights signed and ratified by Brazil.

Both the government and Lula’s lawyers have already been briefed on the outcome of the case, but the official announcement will only be made this Thursday.

The wanted ex-president’s defense stated that he could not comment on the outcome due to the UN embargo.

For the column, Moro explained that he would only comment on the committee’s decision when he had access to its content. However, he noted that “former President Lula was convicted of corruption in three cases of the judiciary and at the hands of nine magistrates” and that “his arrest was authorized by the STF in March 2018”.

“It was a corporate act stemming from corruption discovered at Petrobras. The Brazilian-owned company actually got back R$6 billion thanks to Lava Jato’s work,” said the former judge.

Lula was represented at the UN by lawyers Valeska Zanin Martins and Cristiano Zanin Martins, in addition to British Geoffrey Robertson. The international body had been considering the case since 2016.

The complaint included four complaints made by the PT’s defense, which were answered by the committee in favor of the former president:

• Lula’s detention by PF in a room at Congonhas airport in 2016 was considered arbitrary by his lawyers;
• the bias of the process and the judiciary;
• dissemination of private messages from Lula’s family members;
• and the impossibility of candidacy in 2018;

The Committee concluded that the rights of the former president were violated in all articles.

The STF has already assessed that Moro violated the rules of procedure and revoked the convictions, allowing Lula to run for president in 2022. But despite this, the process continued in international litigation.

There were two decisions of the Supreme Court. The court considered Moro partial and overturned Lula’s convictions, as it ruled that cases should not be left to the Judge of Paraná.

backstage

In the case of Brazil, in mid-August 2018, the committee awarded the former president the first victory. The body issued precautionary measures and asked the Brazilian authorities to protect Lula’s political rights until his case was considered by the STF and the merits of the case were heard in Geneva.

The committee’s decision was ignored by the Brazilian state. But UOL He found that Brazil’s response had been taken into account by the committee and considered it a serious fact.

The decision, now published, criticized Brazil’s option to ignore precautionary measures.

At the beginning of March 2022, the issue entered the agenda of experts in the committee, but not all agreed that a conviction should be made against the Brazilian state. For many, reversing the situation, the STF has already made it clear that Brazilian institutions are working and that the Committee’s involvement in a decision will not be necessary.

The discussion had to go, without an agreement, to the Committee’s 18 experts, who together made a final decision. They had to assess both the admissibility of the case and the issue of merit.

It was the hope of the Brazilian government that the case would never be accepted for consideration by the UN, claiming that the local justice system was responsive to the process and therefore recourse to international organizations was inappropriate.

in documents obtained by UOLJair Bolsonaro’s government insisted that Moro acted within a rule of law and the process went through all situations.

In a statement sent to the UN late last year, the former president’s lawyers insisted that the case still needs to be examined and that there were “irreversible damages” to the former president, including a 580-day prison sentence and a verdict. To prevent him from running for 2018.

According to the petition signed by attorneys Geoffrey Robertson, Valeska Zanin Martins and Cristiano Zanin Martins, “The violations to which Lula suffered are still being discovered through an ongoing investigation.”

In the complaint, the defense cites a report by UOL that revealed how the Public Ministry had contacted Pegasus, the company that was trying to sell Israeli spy equipment. The product has never been purchased.

The petition also updates UN experts on the dismissal of the cases against Lula and states that Moro “manipulated the rules.” “The court has ruled that Lula did not receive a fair and impartial trial,” they say.

Lawyers also say that Moro “decided to become part of the elected government (Bolsonaro)” and that the former judge “directly benefited from the petitioner’s conviction and prison sentence.”

“He has agreed to join the government of Jair Bolsonaro and is now considered a presidential candidate in the 2022 election,” the petition states.