The Superior Court of Justice (STJ) gives Robinho five days to hand over his passport to the court.

Conjur - Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Francisco Falcão ordered former soccer player Robinho to hand over his passport to the court on Friday (March 24). The judge also prohibited him from leaving the country and gave him five days to hand over the document. 

The decision was prompted by a request from the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office and taken after Robinho's defense team informed them that he wished to voluntarily hand over the document. 

Brazil's Superior Court of Justice (STJ) is analyzing a request from the Italian courts for the former athlete, who was sentenced to nine years in prison in Italy, to serve his sentence in Brazil. In his decision, the minister pointed out that this type of case requires measures to guarantee the eventual execution of the sentence and noted that Robinho has the resources to leave the country. 

"The defendant [Robinho] was sentenced to 9 years in prison by a final and unappealable judgment abroad for committing a serious crime with international repercussions, and his socioeconomic status makes him potentially eligible to flee Brazilian jurisdiction, which justifies the imposition of this exceptional measure, pursuant to articles 282 and 320 of the Code of Criminal Procedure."

Minister Francisco Falcão emphasized that it is the judge's responsibility, in exercising the general power of caution, to guarantee the useful outcome of the process and, to that end, among the legal measures, to choose the one that, at the same time, has the greatest effectiveness and generates the least possible interference in the freedom of the interested party.

"In this regard, while this request for approval is being processed, it is advisable to establish precautionary measures other than imprisonment to guarantee any future decision accepting the request for execution of the sentence within the national territory," the minister concluded.

According to the ruling, the player's passport must be delivered directly to the Superior Court of Justice (STJ).

Last Tuesday (March 21), Falcão denied a request from the former player's defense to have the Italian government summoned to provide a complete translated copy of the proceedings that convicted the former athlete.

In rejecting the request, the judge urgently ordered that the former player be summoned to present a response to the homologation request, and reopened the 15-day period for this action. The homologation of the sentence was requested by Italy so that the sentence can be served in Brazil.

The rapporteur for the matter also admitted in the proceedings, as amicus curiaeThe Brazilian Women's Union is participating due to the social impact of the case. The organization's participation is limited to monitoring the proceedings, submitting written arguments, and presenting oral arguments at the trial before the Special Court.