Currently, the Brazilian Supreme Court is cracking down on free speech again, after Elon Musk and journalist Michael Shellenberger helped raise awareness of the assault on democracy in the largest country in South America.
Now, Chief Serere is in danger of being sent back to prison for 5 to 10 years for the crime of opposing the government. Many indigenous Brazilians support President Jair Bolsonaro, who protected their rights against colonialist Western “environmentalists” who want to force the indigenous to live in the Stone Age. Indigenous Brazilians are protected by law in Brazil, which the Lula government regularly ignores.
Indigenous chief José Acácio Serere Xavante, known as Cacique Serere, was one of the organizers of the mass popular protests in Fall 2022, in which millions of Brazilians took to the streets to peacefully protest the elections they saw as plagued by fraud. In several Amazon districts, where many indigenous support President Bolsonaro, there were zero votes recorded for Bolsonaro.
Chief Serere was arrested at gunpoint in the capital of Brasilía in front of his family Dec. 12, 2022 by the private “Federal Police” force of the head of the Brazilian Supreme Court, Alexandre de Moraes, and imprisoned for 9 months.
He was released in September 2023 on supervised release, using an Electronic Anklet that monitors his steps and prohibited from interacting with his people in the tribal villages, being forced to remain within the limits of the electronic anklet’s range, his lawyer Geovane Veras Pessoa writes, who represents 46 political prisoners.
Currently, Chief Serere has to stay at his home in the municipality of Aragarças, in the State of Goiás, without being able to work. “Serere is unfairly accused of committing the offense of Incitement to Crime, provided for in article 286 of the Brazilian Penal Code, whose penalty is 3 to 6 months of detention or a fine,” his lawyer writes. He has already served 9 months, exceeding the maximum provided by law.
On April 29, Chief Serere had his Parole Hearing, where he argued he did not commit a crime, since the Brazilian Constitution guarantees Free Speech and Free Assembly. To the surprise of the defense, the Federal Supreme Court added another crime to the charges, Criminal Association, without any proof for the new accusation, his Veras Pessoa said.
“In truth, Serere was arrested because he criticized Chief Justice Alexandre de Moraes and President Lula over the lack of transparency in the 2022 presidential elections,“ his lawyer wrote.
Serere’s health worsened in prison because he did not receive proper medical care or adequate food for his type 2 diabetes. His kidneys and vision are currently compromised and he needs expensive diabetes medicines, but he does not have the financial resources to support his family. Serere is currently under house arrest, and cannot visit his people or work to support himself and his family of 6 children and his wife.
Also, the ankle bracelet is causing wounds and swelling on Serere’s left leg, which further worsens his health condition, his lawyer wrote.
“Brazil today is experiencing a dictatorship of the Judiciary, in which the Justices of the Supreme Court are violating the elementary Rights of Defense, Due Process and Contradiction,” his attorney said. “It is imperative that Brazil returns to the Democratic Rule of Law and the Freedom guaranteed in the Federal Constitution.”
Western leftist journalists who claim to be concerned about the plight of the indigenous people in Brazil are shamefully ignoring the plight of Chief Serere and other indigenous political prisoners.
Post a Comment