Brazil's top judge defends minister's actions in Zambelli case after Italian criticism

Edson Fachin, president of Brazil's Supreme Court (STF), on Friday defended the actions of Minister Alexandre de Moraes in the case involving former congresswoman Carla Zambelli. Fachin's statement came in response to remarks from Italian judicial authorities who had questioned Moraes's impartiality.

Italian justice officials, in a ruling on Thursday denying Zambelli's extradition, described Moraes's dual role, serving as a judge in the case while also being a victim of the alleged crimes, as problematic. They suggested the STF had not judged Zambelli impartially.

Zambelli was sentenced to ten years in prison for invading the National Justice Council's system and issuing a false arrest warrant against Moraes himself. In his note, Fachin asserted that the proceedings against Zambelli were conducted "in strict observance of the Constitution of the Republic, due process, adversarial principle, broad defense, and international commitments assumed by the Brazilian State."

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in strict observance of the Constitution of the Republic, the due process of law, the adversarial principle, the broad defense, and the international commitments assumed by the State.

Fachin stated that the STF is following the Italian court's decision with concern. He detailed that the Attorney General's Office had brought charges against Zambelli for computer intrusion and ideological falsehood. The First Panel of the STF unanimously accepted the charges and upheld Moraes's decisions, finding sufficient grounds for prosecution. He added that after a full trial, the panel unanimously ruled the case fully founded, even rejecting a request for Moraes's recusal.

The Italian judges' document, accessed by Folha, noted that "multiple elements emerged that lead to doubting the impartiality, under the objective aspect, of the court that rendered the conviction of the appellant [Zambelli]." They cited Moraes's "dual function" as a member of the judging panel and a person harmed by one of the alleged crimes, alongside his accumulation of judicial roles in the Brazilian criminal process.

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No caso em questão, foi oferecida denúncia pela Procuradoria-Geral da República pela prática de crimes de invasão a dispositivo informático e falsidade ideológica. A denúncia foi recebida por unanimidade pela Primeira Turma, que referendou as decisões monocráticas do eminente relator, ministro Alexandre de Moraes, e entendeu presentes os requisitos para o exercício da ação penal.