Fachin is the rapporteur for a lawsuit filed in Rio de Janeiro against the Minister of Justice.
Supreme Court Justice Edson Fachin was chosen by lot to be the rapporteur for the judicial interpellation request filed with the Court by the state of Rio de Janeiro against the Minister of Justice, Torquato Jardim. In interviews published this week, Torquato criticized the top security officials in Rio, and claimed to have intelligence information demonstrating how Governor Luiz Fernando Pezão and the Secretary of Security, Roberto Sá, had lost control of the situation, and that the command of the Military Police in the state was "in cahoots with a state deputy and organized crime."
Felipe Pontes - reporter for Agência Brasil
Justice Edson Fachin of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) was chosen by lot to be the rapporteur for the judicial interpellation request filed with the Court by the state of Rio de Janeiro against the Minister of Justice, Torquato Jardim.
In interviews published this week, Torquato Jardim criticized the top brass of public security in Rio. He claimed to have intelligence information demonstrating how Governor Luiz Fernando Pezão and Rio's Secretary of Security, Roberto Sá, had lost control of the situation, and that the state's Military Police command was "in cahoots with a state deputy and organized crime."
In response, Pezão filed a legal challenge with the Supreme Federal Court (STF). In the document, the Attorney General of the State, Leonardo Espíndola, writes that "the public officials referred to by the defendant [Torquato Jardim] act on behalf of the state and categorically deny the falsehoods and crimes he has alleged in his outbursts, which have been widely publicized by the media."
"It is clear, therefore, that the person being questioned verbalized accusations about the commission of crimes by state public agents, based on intelligence information from the Ministry of Justice, and that, by virtue of this questioning, they deserve to be clarified and proven," Espíndola added.
Fachin must now decide whether to proceed with the request and notify the Minister of Justice to respond to the interpellation. This type of legal measure is generally used as an initial stage in a possible lawsuit for libel or defamation.
The Minister of Justice, Torquato Jardim, has not yet commented on the action.