Supreme Court orders suspension of government file on anti-fascist public servants
Nine of the eleven justices rule that the production of these reports by the Ministry of Justice is unconstitutional
In a judgment concluded on Thursday, August 20, the Supreme Court declared the unconstitutionality of the production, by the Ministry of Justice, of a file on public servants associated with the anti-fascist movement.
Nine out of the eleven justices voted that the federal government should suspend the production of these reports. They were: Luiz Fux, Roberto Barroso, Rosa Weber, Cármen Lúcia, Edson Fachin, Alexandre de Moraes, Dias Toffoli, Gilmar Mendes and Ricardo Lewandowski. The only opposing vote was from Justice Marco Aurélio. Justice Celso de Mello, who is on medical leave, did not participate.
The case was filed by the political party Rede Sustentabilidade (Sustainability Network) and it accuses the government of “infiltrating public bodies” for the purpose of staging “political and ideological persecution”.
The existence of the report was exposed by the press in July. The secret file lists 579 federal and state public security agents and three university professors identified as being members of the “anti-fascist movement”.
In her vote, Cármen Lúcia, the rapporteur of the case, defended the suspension of all acts of government associated with the production and sharing of information on the political activities of citizens and public servants.
“It is not anyone’s job to keep files on people, regardless of who they are, or to establish inquisitional procedures,” said Justice Lúcia.
Gabriel Sampaio, coordinator of strategic litigation at Conectas, made an oral statement during the judgment on behalf of the organization that was accepted as an amicus curiae – institutions accepted to contribute with technical information in court rulings – in the case.
“We find it alarming that, in this day and age, we are discussing the criminalization of anti-fascism,” said the lawyer Gabriel Sampaio in the Supreme Court. “We are facing a real misuse of power.”
According to Sampaio, “to date, society has yet to be presented with the justification and the potential occurrence of a criminal act” that could warrant the production of the file.
“We are convinced of the importance of protecting democracy and the democratic rule of law. We find it alarming that, in this day and age, we have to discuss the criminalization of anti-fascism, since we are all, including this court, the product of this anti-fascist struggle,” said the lawyer.
Watch the video of the statement:
