Electoral court clears Dilma Rousseff's nephew in case against Deltan Dallagnol

The Regional Electoral Court of Paraná (TRE-PR) has unanimously overturned a lower court's conviction and a R$ 5,000 fine against Pedro Rousseff, a Belo Horizonte city councilman and nephew of former president Dilma Rousseff. The legal dispute stemmed from a social media post where Rousseff declared that the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) had confirmed the ineligibility of former federal deputy Deltan Dallagnol.

Rousseff had written on social media, “Urgent. TSE just confirmed the ineligibility of the scoundrel Deltan Dallagnol. Great Day!” The initial ruling not only imposed the fine but also prohibited Rousseff from making further publications, a restriction that has now also been reversed.

The rapporteur for the case, Adriana de Lourdes Simette, based her decision on a prior ruling by the Supreme Federal Court (STF). Simette stated that the STF had affirmed that claims of Dallagnol's ineligibility were supported by a TSE pronouncement recognizing such ineligibility. She added that any disagreement over the scope or interpretation of the TSE ruling does not constitute disinformation, as it is based on a public judicial decision.

Dallagnol, however, criticized the STF's decision, suggesting that ministers Gilmar Mendes and Flávio Dino, whom he called "notorious adversaries who should have recused themselves," imposed an understanding that "lying about my eligibility is freedom of speech." Dallagnol mentioned having 15 favorable decisions from the Novo party directing the removal of content about his alleged ineligibility, which were overturned by the Supreme Court.

Simette also addressed Rousseff's use of the word "scoundrel" and the phrase "great day," deeming them severe but within the bounds of protected freedom of expression and criticism regarding a public figure. Rousseff commented after the ruling, "This decision is not a victory for me, but for everyone who defends true freedom of expression. Calling the ineligible Deltan ineligible is not fake news, it's telling the truth to the Brazilian people." In May 2023, the TSE had unanimously stripped Dallagnol of his federal deputy mandate, citing attempts to circumvent the Clean Slate Law in the 2022 election.

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Essa decisão não é uma vitória minha, mas de todo mundo que defende a verdadeira liberdade de expressão. Chamar o inelegível do Deltan de inelegível não é fake news, é contar a verdade pro povo brasileiro.