STF unanimously sentences Carla Zambelli to 10 years in prison and loss of mandate

Supreme Court Justice Luiz Fux voted this Wednesday, the 14th, to convict federal deputy Carla Zambelli (PL) for hacking into the National Council of Justice (CNJ) system. Fux's vote concluded the trial held in the First Chamber. Zambelli was unanimously sentenced to 10 years in prison, in addition to the loss of her position as federal deputy.

She may file a statement of clarification after the publication of the ruling. The appeal does not have the power to change the conviction, but it does postpone the final judgment of the case. Any arrest must be authorized by the Chamber of Deputies.

The loss of office would also have to be decided by the deputies. However, the jurisprudence of the STF is that if the sentence is greater than 120 days in prison in a closed regime, the court itself can determine the measure because the Constitution provides that the deputies will lose their mandate if they miss one third of the sessions. In this case, it is up to the Board of Directors of the Chamber to only declare the loss of office.

In addition to Fux and Moraes, ministers Cristiano Zanin, Flávio Dino and Cármen Lúcia voted in favor of the conviction, totaling 5 votes to 0.

When contacted, Carla Zambelli's advisors have not yet commented. When the majority in favor of conviction was formed on May 9, the parliamentarian released a statement in which she expressed her "resignation" and stated that her defense was restricted and "numerous nullities were disregarded." She also said that the conviction is unfair because there is no "irrefutable and indisputable evidence."

Fux agreed with the understanding of the case's rapporteur, Alexandre de Moraes. In his vote, Moraes said that the deputy maintained an “umbilical connection” with the hacker Walter Delgatti with “anti-republican objectives”. Delgatti was sentenced to 8 years and three months in prison.

He and Zambelli will have to pay R$2 million for collective material and moral damages. Moraes also established individual fines of approximately R$2.1 million for the deputy and approximately R$520 thousand for the hacker. The exact amounts will still be calculated in the process.

Zambelli tried to interrupt the trial until the Chamber of Deputies ruled on his case, as happened with federal deputy Alexandre Ramagem (PL-RJ), but the request was denied by Moraes on Monday.

According to the Public Prosecutor's Office's indictment, Zambelli coordinated the invasion of the Judiciary's systems carried out by Delgatti. During the attack on the CNJ system in 2023, a false arrest warrant was issued against Moraes. “Issue the arrest warrant against myself, Alexandre de Moraes. Publish, notify and file a complaint,” the false document said.

A receipt was also produced for the blocking of R$22.9 million in the minister's assets – an amount equivalent to the fine imposed on the Liberal Party (PL), of former president Jair Bolsonaro, for questioning the electronic voting machines.

The complaint filed by the Attorney General's Office was accepted by the First Chamber of the STF last year and the trial began on Friday, the 9th. The PGR claims that Carla Zambelli "commanded" and helped in the "planning" of the cyber attack. Walter Delgatti confessed to the crimes.

The Federal Police (PF) indicated, in the final report of the investigation, that documents seized from the deputy correspond, in whole or in part, to the files inserted by the hacker into the CNJ system, which for the investigators proves that she participated in the attack. In his vote, Alexandre de Moraes states that this is “irrefutable technical evidence and demonstrates, beyond any reasonable doubt, the direct involvement” of the deputy in the crimes. The PF concluded that the attack was planned to cast doubt on the credibility of the Judiciary.

Walter Delgatti told the Federal Police that he received around R$40,000 to try to hack into the Judiciary's systems. He provided proof of transfers totaling R$10,500 made by a former aide to the congresswoman. The rest, according to the report, was delivered in cash in São Paulo. Investigators dismantled part of the testimony. The PF concluded that the payments made by the former aide were to buy bottles of whiskey.

The only messages found between Carla Zambelli and Walter Delgatti are about Moraes. The deputy sent two audio messages asking for the minister's address. She claims that her mother wanted to send a letter to the judge.

The deputy also claimed that she hired the hacker to manage her website and social media, but advisors interviewed during the investigation denied that he had actually provided these services.

Carla Zambelli is responding to another lawsuit at the STF for chasing a man with a pistol on the eve of the second round of the 2022 elections. There is a majority formed to convict the deputy for illegal possession of a weapon and illegal coercion with the use of a firearm and revoke her mandate, but the trial is suspended due to a request for review by Minister Kassio Nunes Marques.