Brazil's top prosecutor asks court to maintain virtual trial for ex-Rio Assembly head

Brazil's Attorney General's Office (PGR) has urged Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes to uphold a virtual trial for Rodrigo Bacellar, the former president of Rio de Janeiro's Legislative Assembly, who has been detained since March. Bacellar's defense team had requested that his case be heard in person, but the PGR contends that virtual trials are public and adequately facilitate the right to a defense.

In a filing on Tuesday, Attorney General Paulo Gonet argued that the "argument of violation of publicity does not hold up. The virtual trial is public." He further stated that virtual sessions allow for oral arguments via video, ensuring comprehensive defense. The defense's plea for an in-person hearing cited the "rule of maximum publicity and transparency," referencing the live trial of defendants in the coup plot case, including former President Jair Bolsonaro, which Moraes is also overseeing.

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The argument of violation of publicity does not hold up. The virtual trial is public.

Bacellar, along with former state deputy TH Joias and federal judge Macário Ramos Júdice Neto, was indicted in March for obstruction and leaking information related to investigations into the Comando Vermelho criminal organization. According to the PGR, the accused "obstructed the investigation of a criminal offense involving an armed criminal organization, through the complicity of public officials."

The prosecution alleges that the Comando Vermelho, benefiting from the actions of the accused, infiltrated public bodies to gain access to privileged and confidential information while also engaging in international drug and arms trafficking. Jéssica Oliveira Santos and Tharcio Nascimento Salgado, individuals associated with TH Joias, were also indicted, suspected of providing material assistance to the former deputy and removing items from his residence before federal police operations.

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obstructed the investigation of a criminal offense involving an armed criminal organization, through the complicity of public officials.