After nearly six months, executives leave prison.
Contractor Ricardo Pessoa, from UTC Engenharia, and Gerson de Mello Almada, from Engevix, left the Federal Police jail in Curitiba late this morning; yesterday's decision by the Second Panel of the Supreme Federal Court released them to house arrest after almost six months of pre-trial detention; for the reporting judge, Teori Zavascki, detention to force plea bargains from the defendants, as ordered by Lava Jato judge Sergio Moro, is a "medieval" measure; seven other executives and employees of construction companies investigated in the case also benefited from the decision and will go home.
247 - After nearly six months in prison, executives Ricardo Pessoa, owner of UTC Engenharia, and Gerson de Mello Almada, vice-president of Engevix, companies investigated in Operation Lava Jato, left the Federal Police jail in Curitiba late this morning to serve house arrest.
They benefited from a decision made yesterday by the Second Panel of the Supreme Federal Court, which did not consider the argument that Pessoa could flee the country sufficient to justify his imprisonment.
According to the case's reporting minister, Teori Zavascki, preventive detention to force a plea bargain, as orchestrated by Lava Jato judge Sergio Moro, is "a medieval measure that would cover our society in shame."
Seven other executives and employees of construction companies investigated in the case also benefited from the decision and will serve house arrest. All will be monitored by electronic ankle bracelets.
Below is a news report from Agência Brasil:
Executives investigated in Lava Jato leave prison in Curitiba.
André Richter - After five months in prison, nine executives from construction companies investigated in Operation Lava Jato left prison in Curitiba today (29). They benefited yesterday (28) from the decision of the Second Panel of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), which granted freedom to the investigated parties.
By majority vote, the justices understood that pretrial detention cannot be applied as a premature sentence, even in the face of the seriousness of the crimes committed.
With the Supreme Court's decision, the OAS executives José Ricardo Nogueira Breghirolli, Agenor Franklin, Mateus Coutinho, and José Aldemário Filho were released, in addition to Sérgio Mendes (Mendes Júnior), Gerson Almada (Engevix), Erton Medeiros (Galvão Engenharia), João Ricardo Auler (Camargo Corrêa), and Ricardo Pessoa (UTC).
The executives were being held at the Federal Police Headquarters in Curitiba and at the Paraná Medical-Penal Complex in Pinhais (PR), in the metropolitan region of the Paraná state capital.
Before their release, the suspects were taken to a hearing with Judge Sérgio Moro, where they signed a commitment to comply with the precautionary measures determined by the Supreme Court and to have electronic ankle monitors fitted.
In exchange for their freedom, the suspects will serve house arrest, be monitored with electronic ankle bracelets, be prohibited from contacting other suspects, and must appear in court every 15 days. All are forbidden from leaving the country and must surrender their passports.
The executives were arrested last November, by order of Sérgio Moro, based on accusations gathered from plea bargain testimonies by money launderer Alberto Youssef and former Petrobras Supply Director Paulo Roberto Costa.
According to them, the executives paid bribes to former directors of the state-owned company in exchange for construction contracts. Based on the accusations, those under investigation are defendants in criminal cases pending in the Federal Court in Curitiba.