Weintraub is scheduled to testify to the Federal Police this Thursday.
The defense of Education Minister Abraham Weintraub had requested the postponement of his testimony in the inquiry in which he is being investigated for the crime of racism against the Chinese. The request was denied this Wednesday (3) by STF minister Celso de Mello.
Felipe Pontes, Agência Brasil - Last night (3), Minister Celso de Mello, of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), denied an appeal by the Minister of Education, Abraham Weintraub, to postpone his testimony to the Federal Police (PF) in the investigation in which he is being investigated for the crime of racism against the Chinese.
Weintraub's defense had requested the postponement based on article 221 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which provides for the prerogative of ministers of state to adjust the best day and time to be heard by the police authority.
The rapporteur for the inquiry, Celso de Mello, stated, however, that this prerogative only applies if the Minister of State is a victim or witness of a crime, and never if he is suspected of committing it.
In the decision, the minister cited several Supreme Court rulings on the subject and wrote that "the legal rule enshrined in article 221, 'caput', of the Code of Criminal Procedure, is intended solely for witnesses and victims of criminal acts. This means, therefore, that suspects, those under investigation, the accused, and defendants do not possess this special procedural prerogative."
The Minister of Education was notified by the Federal Police to appear at 15 pm this Thursday (4) to give testimony in the case.
Understand
At the beginning of the month, a post Weintraub's tweet questioned who could emerge geopolitically strengthened from the crisis caused by the pandemic. In the text, the minister replaced the "R" with "L," in a reference to the character Cebolinha from Monica's Gang, and to the common mistake made by Chinese people when speaking Portuguese. An image with the Chinese flag illustrated the publication. post It was later deleted.
Also on Twitter, the Chinese ambassador to Brazil, Wanming Yang, released an official statement condemning the act, which he described as racism against the Chinese.
The investigation into alleged racism against Chinese people. It was opened by Celso de Mello at the end of April.At the request of the Attorney General's Office (PGR), the investigation pointed to an alleged violation of Article 20 of the law that defines crimes of discrimination or prejudice based on race, color, ethnicity, religion, or national origin. The penalty foreseen is one to three years in prison.
At the time, Celso de Mello lifted the secrecy surrounding the case and gave a 90-day deadline for the investigation to be completed.