Supreme Court overturns ex-minister Dirceu’s conviction for criminal conspiracy

Brazil’s Supreme Court absolved on Thursday (Feb. 27), with six votes against five, the eight defendants in the trials of the Mensalão scandal. They had been previously convicted of criminal conspiracy. According to six out of the eleven judges, what they did does not constitute conspiracy. Among the defendants benefited by the new decision are José Dirceu, who was the Chief of Staff during former president Lula’s istration, and José Genoino, formerly a deputy and the president of the Workers’ Party. Now they are entitled to serve their sentence under a semiopen regime (they must stay in jail only at night), for active corruption.

However, in the view of court president Joaquim Barbosa, who was the relator in the case and presented the allegations against the defendants, the conspiracy did occur and this “criminal structure was in operation” during the period in which the infractions took place, and was headed by Marcos Valério’s advertising companies and the other convicts.

Among the six ministers who did not agree with the new decision were court ministers Carmem Lúcia and Rosa Weber. Old ministers, Gilmar Mendes and Celso de Mello, voted for preserving the previous sentence, without the criminal conspiracy charges.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira