The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silvapardoned those convicted of “non-violent” crimes under a series of conditions and excluded from the pardon the coup plotters who sought to overthrow his Government on January 8.
The pardon, which was published last midnight in the Official Gazette and granted on the occasion of the Christmasalso extends to women with minor children or with serious chronic illnesses, as well as people over 60 years of age who have served part of their sentence.
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This is Lula’s first Christmas pardon since he began his third term on January 1. after governing the country for two consecutive periods between 2003 and 2010.
The progressive leader also pardoned people with permanent deficiencies prior to the crimes committed; with serious permanent or chronic illnesses; and those with a degree of autism “severe“, always depending on the length of the sentence and the time served.
Likewise, it forgave the fines imposed by the Justice for a value of up to 20,000 reais ($4,100/3,700 euros).
Those convicted with economic sanctions above that figure also you will be benefiedbut only if they demonstrate that they do not have the conditions to pay them.
However, the pardon includes several exceptions for whom a Christmas pardon will not be granted under any circumstances, including those convicted of crimes such as “torture”, “terrorism”, “racism”, “violence against women” or against “the Democratic State of Law”.
This last group includes those convicted of the attempted coup d’état on January 8, when thousands of followers of the former president Jair Bolsonaro They invaded and destroyed the headquarters of the Presidencyhe Congress and the Supreme with the intention of forcing a military intervention that would overthrow the Lula’s government.
So far, the Supreme Court has sentenced around twenty of the nearly 2,000 people charged for that episode, of which 66 are in prison, including those sentenced and those in preventive detention, while the rest respond to the process in freedom.
He pardon nor will it apply to ringleaders of factions criminalsnor to the people who signed a collaboration agreement with the Brazilian authorities to confess their crimes and target others.
The pardon decree was signed by Lula and by the Minister of Justice, Flavio Dinowho as of February 22 will become one of the eleven judges of the Supreme Courtand analyzed by National Council of Criminal and Penitentiary Policy.
