Suspects in Operation Car Wash denied habeas corpus

The Federal Court turned down pre-charge release applications filed by 11 of the suspects investigated as part of Operação Lava Jato (Operation Car Wash) on Saturday (Nov. 15). The Ministry of Justice reports 19 people have been arrested as part of the operation.

The attorneys of three associates of contractor Camargo Corrêa, namely Eduardo Emerlino Leite (executive); Dalton dos Santos Avancini, and João Ricardo Auler, all had their petitions rejected. Avancini and Auler were ordered temporary detention. Leite, who is under preventive detention, applied for habeas corpus, and is also planning to apply to serve his pre-charge remand at home citing high blood pressure.

The court has also denied habeas corpus to OAS engineering firm associates José Aldemário Pinheiro Filho (CEO), Agenor Franklin Magalhães Medeiros, José Ricardo Nogueira Breghirolli, Mateus Coutinho de Sá Oliveira, and Alexandre Portela Barbosa. Oliveira, Barbosa, and Pinheiro Filho are also under temporary detention.

Carlos Eduardo Strauch Albero, Milton Prado Júnior, and Gerson de Mello Almada, who work for another contractor called Engevix, have also been denied release. Albero and Prado Júnior are under temporary detention, and  Almada is under preventive detention.

Temporary detention is usually designed as a measure to ensure investigations can proceed without inhibition, provided there is any legal evidence of involvement of the suspect in the offense imputed to them. It is usually limited to five days.

Preventive detention can be ordered before charge during the investigations, or at some point during prosecution. It is designed to prevent the suspect or defendant from continuing to commit the same offenses, or interfering with the procedure by threatening witnesses or eliminating evidence. It can be initially fixed to last for a maximum 30 days and be subsequently extended.

Translated by Mayra Borges