Brazil’s Supreme Court Forms Majority to Uphold Roberto Jefferson’s Fine as Mendonça Requests More Time to Review Case

Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has ruled that paying a fine is a required condition for former congressman Roberto Jefferson to advance from a closed prison regime to a semi-open one. Jefferson’s lawyers asked the court to authorize the transfer, but Moraes said the request cannot be approved because the defense has not proven that payment of the fine has begun.

Jefferson is currently under house arrest. According to the decision, deliberate nonpayment of the criminal fine blocks progression to a less restrictive prison regime. Moraes cited a prior ruling by the court’s full bench establishing that prison progression depends on self-discipline and a sense of responsibility, requirements he said are not met when a convicted person has the means to pay but chooses not to comply with the financial penalty.

The defense argued that Jefferson is absolutely unable to pay the fine and submitted income tax declarations to support that claim. Moraes, however, said the documents do not demonstrate an absolute and proven inability to pay, including through installments. Under the court’s precedent, exemption from the obligation to pay a fine applies only when there is a fully documented economic impossibility that also prevents installment payments.

The case is tied to Jefferson’s conviction by the Supreme Court for attacking the functioning of Brazil’s branches of government. The court accepted a complaint from the Prosecutor General’s Office that said Jefferson encouraged people to use violence against lawmakers involved in the COVID-19 pandemic inquiry and to blow up the building of Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court. The current dispute concerns whether he can receive a more favorable prison regime while the fine remains unpaid.