Zé de Abreu criticizes the 'mensalão' scandal and reveals he donated R$ 1 to José Dirceu.

A friend of the former minister, whom he met at law school in 1967, the famous actor says he made the donation "to share the burden with him"; in an interview, he criticized Criminal Action 470, conducted by the Supreme Federal Court; "It was an outlier," he said; and directly addressed the president of the Court, Joaquim Barbosa: "Joaquim was everything: prosecutor, judge. He did everything alone. He argued, he overrode colleagues."

February 17, 2014, 18:25 PMUpdated July 09, 2018, 16:17 pm

A friend of the former minister, whom he met at law school in 1967, the famous actor says he made the donation "to share the burden with him"; in an interview, he criticized Criminal Action 470, conducted by the Supreme Court; "It was an outlier," he said; and directly addressed the president of the Court, Joaquim Barbosa: "Joaquim was everything: prosecutor, judge. He did everything alone. He argued, he overrode colleagues" (Photo: Gisele Federicce)

247 - A friend and supporter of former minister José Dirceu, whom he met at law school in 1967, the actor José de Abreu revealed that he donated R$ 1 to the campaign raising funds to pay the fine of the convicted man in Criminal Action 470. interview with the newspaper O GloboHe said he donated "to share the sentence with him."

For Zé de Abreu, the initiative of the Workers' Party members is "legitimate." He said he hasn't yet visited his friend at the Papuda Penitentiary in Brasília because he records "every day." But he affirms that he has the impression that, soon, "they will have to comply with the law and let him work." According to him, the fact that Dirceu is serving a closed regime sentence, even though he was sentenced to a semi-open regime, "is another illegality."

Currently appearing in the six o'clock soap opera on Globo, "Joia Rara," the actor, who is a prominent figure on Twitter where he expresses his opinions and is a harsh critic of Criminal Action 470, reiterated his position on the trial. "I don't agree with this trial. It was an outlier. Totally political," he declared to journalist Cássio Bruno.

And directly targeting the president of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), Joaquim Barbosa, he fired back: "Joaquim was everything: prosecutor, judge. He did everything alone. He argued, he trampled over colleagues, often (Minister Ricardo) Lewandowski. Now he's there: he won't arrest (former congressman Roberto) Jefferson. Without a doubt, it was an extremely media-driven trial."