Dirceu responds to Globo headline.

The headline reads that the former minister defied the Supreme Court in the final stretch of the so-called "mensalão" scandal: "The Globo Organizations have no legitimacy to accuse me of defying the Justice system. They, however, have a notable history of defying the Supreme Court, supporting the military coup, the dictatorship, and the AI-5, which usurped the constitutional powers of the Supreme Court, eliminated individual guarantees, habeas corpus, freedom of expression and organization. I was on the other side of the trench, defending democracy," he said.

September 12, 2013, 08:55 PMUpdated July 10, 2018, 12:02 pm

The headline reads that the former minister defied the Supreme Court in the final stretch of the so-called "mensalão" scandal: "The Globo Organizations have no legitimacy to accuse me of defying the Justice system. They, however, have a notable history of defying the Supreme Court, supporting the military coup, the dictatorship, and the AI-5, which usurped the constitutional powers of the Supreme Court, eliminated individual guarantees, habeas corpus, freedom of expression and organization. I was on the other side of the trench, defending democracy," he said (Photo: Roberta Namour).

247 - Former minister José Dirceu published a note on his blog repudiating the headline in the Globo newspaper published last Wednesday: “Final stretch of the Mensalão scandal – On the eve of the trial, Dirceu defies the Supreme Court.” The front-page headline is accompanied by the caption: 'One day before the session in which the Supreme Federal Court may conclude the Mensalão trial, which began more than a year ago, former minister José Dirceu, sentenced to ten years and ten months in prison, defied the court by stating that the ministers' decision will not be “the last chapter” of the case and that he will appeal to international courts to try to overturn the sentence. “Obviously I made many mistakes and I am responsible for many of those mistakes, but not the ones I am accused of,” he claimed.'

Read José Dirceu's response, published this Wednesday on his blog:

Note regarding today's Globo newspaper report.

I am writing in protest against today's headline in the newspaper O Globo, which accuses me of challenging the Supreme Court. The conclusion presented by the newspaper on its front page is based on an interview I gave to the TV channel of the Perseu Abramo Foundation. Anyone who has watched the interview, still available online, knows that at no point did I challenge the Supreme Court. The interpretation adopted by O Globo and its choice to elevate it to the headline betray an intention to interfere in the proceedings of criminal case 470.

What I did in the interview was simply to reaffirm my right to a criminal review, a procedure guaranteed by the Constitution and criminal laws. And also my right to appeal to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, a convention to which Brazil is a signatory by approval of the National Congress, and to which not only our government but also the Judiciary is subject.

The Globo Organizations have no legitimacy to accuse me of defying the Justice system. They, however, have a notable history of defying the Supreme Court by supporting the military coup, the dictatorship, and the AI-5, which usurped the constitutional powers of the Supreme Court, eliminated individual guarantees, habeas corpus, freedom of expression, and freedom of organization. I was on the other side of the trenches, defending democracy.