Judge orders the reopening of 6 federal highways and authorizes the use of force.
Responding to a request from the Federal Government, Judge Marcelo Pinheiro, of the 16th Federal Court of the Federal District, granted the repossession of six federal highways and the immediate reopening of traffic, authorizing "measures indispensable to safeguarding order and, especially, the safety of people affected by the strike."
247 - Responding to a request from the Federal Government, Judge Marcelo Pinheiro, of the 16th Federal Court of the Federal District, granted the repossession of six federal highways (BR-040, BR-050, BR-060, BR-070, BR-080 and BR-251), blocked due to truck driver protests. The magistrate ordered the immediate release of traffic, authorizing "measures indispensable to safeguarding order and, mainly, for the safety of the people affected by the strike movement".
Pinheiro also authorized the use of police force "to ensure that, during the summons of the defendants and the clearing of the highways, no illegal or destructive acts are committed."
According to the Union, the road blockades are preventing, among other things, tanker trucks from the company BR-Distribuidora, a subsidiary of Petrobras, from delivering fuel to Juscelino Kubitschek International Airport in Brasília, which puts national air service at risk.
Since the start of the policy of daily adjustments to the prices of petroleum derivatives, on July 3rd of last year, Petrobras has increased the price of diesel oil at its refineries 121 times, a rise of 56,5%, according to the Brazilian Infrastructure Center (CBIE). In just over ten months, the price per liter of the product went from R$ 1,5006 to R$ 2,3488.
Check out the court decision:
Read below an excerpt from Judge Marcelo Pinheiro's decision:
I grant the preliminary injunction to ensure the immediate reopening of traffic on the highways indicated in the initial petition, through the adoption of the following measures:
a) Issuance of a repossession order to the leaders of the movement and the other participants in the demonstration, ordering them to refrain from completely obstructing federal highways and from engaging in any acts that may impede the full flow of vehicles;
b) I authorize the Union, through the Federal Highway Police and the Federal Police, to adopt the measures indispensable to safeguarding order and, especially, the safety of the people affected by the strike (pedestrians, drivers, passengers and the participants themselves), concerning the sections of federal highways that are subject to closure.
c) I hereby authorize the use of police force to ensure that no illegal or destructive acts are committed during the notification of the defendants and the clearing of the highways.