Brazilian Supreme Court sentences congressman to prison; new crisis?
Will Natan Donadon (PMDB-RO) lose his mandate?; the question arises whether the president of the Chamber, Henrique Alves, from the same party, will return; the deputy from Rondônia was sentenced to 13 years and eight months for embezzling money from the State Legislative Assembly; defended by Nabor Bulhões, he has five days to appeal the sentence published this Monday, the 18th, by the Supreme Court; if the appeal is not accepted, he could be the first parliamentarian in Brazil imprisoned while in office; will the esprit de corps prevail or the voice of Justice?
Deborah Zampier
Reporter from Agência Brasil
Brasilia – The Supreme Federal Court (STF) published today (18), in the Electronic Official Gazette, a decision rejecting the last appeals judged presented by federal deputy Natan Donadon (PMDB-RO), in December of last year, and which allows the arrest of the parliamentarian. In theory, the defense can still file a new appeal, if it understands that there are parts of the decision that were not clear. The deadline to present this appeal is five days, and if there is no response, the arrest warrant can be issued. If this actually happens, Donadon will be the first federal parliamentarian arrested while in office.
The congressman was convicted in October 2010 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 received a total sentence of 13 years, four months, and ten days, to be served initially in a closed prison regime. He will also have to return R$ 1,6 million to public coffers.
In December, lawyer Nabor Bulhões said he would file another appeal as soon as the decision was published. He stated that he would request a criminal review of the case, as he believes the congressman was treated unequally compared to the other defendants involved in the scheme.
According to Bulhões, there are precedents in which the Supreme Federal Court (STF) has upheld decisions by lower court judges in cases where the sentences were more lenient towards the defendants. The lawyer also said he would request the suspension of the effects of the conviction until the new appeal is judged.
It is still unclear whether Donadon will automatically lose his mandate, as happened with the parliamentarians convicted in Criminal Action 470, the mensalão scandal. He is in his third term in the Chamber of Deputies, and if the Supreme Court does not determine the loss of his mandate, it will be up to the Legislative House to analyze whether the parliamentarian should be impeached or merely removed from office to serve his prison sentence.
Edited by: Carolina Pimentel