Gurgel: Donadon's arrest serves as an example for those involved in the Mensalão scandal.
Brazil's Supreme Court (STF) orders the arrest of Congressman Natan Donadon (PMDB-RO) after ruling on appeals from his defense; the Attorney General of the Republic takes the opportunity to demand the same measure for those convicted in Criminal Action 470; the difference is that appeals from the defendants in the so-called 'mensalão' scandal have not yet been judged, but for Roberto Gurgel this seems to be a mere detail; jail time now, he declares, as if he were on the streets.
Jorge Wamburg
Reporter from Agência Brasil
Brazil's Attorney General, Roberto Gurgel, said on Wednesday that the Supreme Federal Court's (STF) decision to order the arrest of Congressman Natan Donadon (PMDB-RO) for corruption could have repercussions in the case of Criminal Action 470, known as the mensalão scandal, in the sense of preventing delaying tactics from the defense.
Gurgel understands that, since the Supreme Federal Court (STF) has ruled on the matter, Donadon can be arrested at any moment. According to him, it will be up to the judge overseeing the execution of the sentence, to whom the case has been sent, to carry out the order.
Conviction
The Brazilian Supreme Court (STF) ordered the immediate arrest of the congressman this morning, after rejecting an appeal from the parliamentarian's defense. Justice Cármen Lúcia, the case's rapporteur, considered the motion for clarification merely a delaying tactic in the process.
This is the first time since the 1988 Constitution that a member of parliament will have to serve a prison sentence during his term, as determined by the Supreme Federal Court. The congressman is in Brasília and will not comment, according to his press office.
The only dissenting vote was that of Justice Marco Aurélio Mello. The vote was 8 to 1. In the session, the justices decided to uphold the conviction, dating from 2010, with a sentence of 13 years, four months and ten days, to be served in a closed regime.
In October 2010, the congressman was convicted of embezzlement and conspiracy for diverting more than R$ 8 million from the Legislative Assembly of Rondônia between 1995 and 1998, when he was the institution's financial director. He will also have to return R$ 1,6 million to public coffers.
The parliamentarian's lawyer, Nabor Bulhões, reacted to the decision, but there are no further appeals possible. "The decision blatantly violates the Constitution and the constitutional guarantees of the parliamentary mandate," he stressed.