Silvio Almeida changes address, cannot be found by the courts and delays the STF process

The STF (Supreme Federal Court) returned the case to the São Paulo Court on Monday (6) for a new attempt. The back and forth delays progress, as only after that can the process proceed.

When officially cited, the accused has a deadline for his or her first defense. The written response must be submitted within 15 days. Afterwards, the rapporteur releases the case for judgment upon receipt of the complaint, that is, for the panel to decide whether there are sufficient elements to make him a defendant.

But, according to people involved in the case, Silvio Almeida moved and did not inform the new address in the process.

In a statement, the defense stated that there is no attempt by the former minister to evade justice and that he is innocent of the charges.

"There is no intention to avoid the summons. This is an ongoing procedure under secrecy, which will be dealt with exclusively in the case file. The defense remains confident that Silvio Almeida's innocence will be demonstrated", says the text.

With notification, the accused receives copies of the complaint or complaint, the rapporteur's order and documents indicated by the magistrate.

The complaint against him was filed on March 4 and is signed by the attorney general, Paulo Gonet. The process takes place under secrecy at the STF and is led by Minister André Mendonça.

On March 23, the rapporteur ordered Silvio Almeida to be cited. Days later, on April 7, the São Paulo court reported that he was not located at the address provided.

After a month and a half, there was no return of the court in São Paulo. The Supreme Court then questioned the local court on the matter and received the response that the former minister had not been found.

Therefore, in May, Mendonça sent an order reporting the situation to the PGR (Attorney General's Office) so that it could take appropriate measures.

The body returned the case to the Supreme Court last week, with new addresses.

Throughout this period, although not found by the courts, the former minister is active on social media. On YouTube, for example, he published four videos, talking about topics such as "unfair accusations against black men" and "media lynching".

On the profile he maintains on Instagram, there are 13 posts made since the presentation of the complaint to the STF, including videos and calls to YouTube material, which he considers a series about the political condition of black men.

As Folha showed, among the testimonies that corroborate former minister Anielle's statements is that of the director general of the Federal Police, Andrei Rodrigues, who participated in the May 2023 meeting in which Almeida allegedly harassed her colleague.

According to Gonet, Andrei says he felt Anielle was very down after the meeting and made strong comments, such as "I couldn't take it anymore". At the time, she would not have mentioned Almeida's name, but she left the meeting upset, reporting discomfort.

It is up to the STF to assess whether to accept the complaint. This analysis takes into account the existence of evidence of authorship and materiality of the conduct and is an initial step in the process. Only then can the Supreme Court open criminal proceedings.

The indictment of Silvio Almeida, last November, was based on suspicion of sexual harassment also against teacher Isabel Rodrigues. The PGR's complaint, however, only addresses Anielle's case.

According to the understanding highlighted by the Prosecutor's Office, the second case was sent to the first instance to follow the STF jurisprudence, since, at the time of the events related to the teacher, Silvio Almeida was not a minister.

According to information from people who had access to the document, the PF considered that there was a statute of limitations in relation to other suspected cases - when the State can no longer punish someone for committing a crime or execute a sentence for the time that has passed since the fact.

The case is also being investigated by the Presidency's Public Ethics Commission, under secrecy. The body investigates the facts at the administrative level, as it involves a public agent.

At the time the case was made public, the former minister published a manifesto on social media in which he stated that he would resume his public activities. "I'm alive, I'm still outraged, and I don't want compassion or 'second chances'. I want justice."

Lula fired Almeida the day after the allegations were revealed, in September 2024. In the resignation statement, the government stated that the president considered the minister's maintenance in the position "unsustainable" considering the nature of the sexual harassment accusations.

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