Supreme Court puts off hearing on request to jail suspended Senator Aécio Neves

Supreme Court Justice Marco Aurélio on Tuesday (June 20) decided to put off a hearing on the Prosecutor-General's Office's request to arrest Senator Aécio Neves, who is currently suspended from office.

The decision was made by Marco Aurélio, who is the justice overseeing the case, because he wants to first examine an appeal filed on Tuesday morning by Neves's defense to be heard by the full bench of the Supreme Court. No dates have been set for resuming the trial.

Last week, Prosecutor-General Rodrigo Janot reiterated his request to jail Neves, saying the senator had defied the suspension order. The prosecutor cited Neves's Facebook post from May 30 showing a picture of him along with his party's senators Tasso Jereissati, Antonio Anastasia, Cássio Cunha Lima and José Serra. “In discussion: Congress votes and the political agenda,” a caption for the picture read.

In a statement, Aécio Neves's press office said he fully complied with the order by Justice Edson Fachin to keeps away from parliamentary activity. “The order does not include a ban from welcoming visitors and discussing different issues as a citizen rather than a congressman,” the statement said.

Translated by Mayra Borges

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