Justice acquits fans accused of racism and speaks of ‘justifiable anger’

The Minas Gerais Court of Justice acquitted two brothers accused of calling a black security guard a “monkey” and of saying, in a pejorative way, “look at your color”. The case took place at the Mineirão stadium. According to the three judges who signed the decision, the victim contributed to the “justifiable anger” of the defendants.

The defendants are Natan Siqueira Silva and Adrierre Siqueira da Silva, and the offenses were made during a Brazilian Championship game between Cruzeiro and Atlético-MG, in November 2019, in Belo Horizonte.

There was a riot between the two fans at the end of the match, and the Military Police reacted with pepper spray. According to the investigation, at that moment, the two brothers tried to access the Mineirão press platform, but were blocked by security; among them, Fábio Coutinho da Silva.

According to the prosecution, Adrierre spat in Fábio’s face and said that the security guard’s mother worked in the “zone”. He even called the professional “son of a bitch”, “faggot” and said “look at your color”. Nathan would have called Fábio a “monkey” twice. The offenses were recorded and the video examined by the Civil Police.

Another expertise requested by the accused pointed out, on the other hand, that Nathan called the security guard a “clown” and not a “monkey”. The brothers’ defense also argues that Adrierre was not referring to Fábio’s color, but to the dirt that was in the security’s hand. “He’s not even black, he’s, at most, brown”, says Cristiane Aguiar, the duo’s lawyer, to Sheet.

“My customers were the ones who suffered damage. They were app drivers and they were kicked out of the app base, they were threatened,” he said.

In the decision, the rapporteur of the case, judge Jayme Silvestre Corrêa Camargo, argued that the legislation allows the magistrate not to apply the penalty of racial injury when the offended caused the offense. According to him, the security guard used physical force to isolate the fans, even though he knew that in the place it was already possible to feel the effects of the pepper spray.

“The accused, at first, acted in revolt, in a growing and justifiable anger, behold, under the effect of pepper gas and fearing for their physical integrity, a fact that, to some extent, was provoked by the victim himself, who insisted on prevent them, out of obvious necessity, from going to a safer point in the stadium,” he wrote.

Judges Valéria Rodrigues Queiroz and Guilherme de Azeredo Passos followed the rapporteur. The Public Ministry did not appeal the decision.

The ruling was published by the court in February and initially reported by Rádio Itatiaia.

Fábio disagrees with the magistrates and says that the accused did not suffer any type of physical or verbal aggression by the security team. “[Os irmãos] they wanted to have access to the press platform and then to the Cruzeiro fans. A catastrophe would happen”, he says to Sheet.

Hédio Silva Jr., PhD in Law from PUC-SP and former Secretary of Justice of the State of São Paulo, says he has never seen a similar decision. For him, the judges’ argument is unconstitutional, since no crime is proportional to racism.

“Indirectly, this applies only to transphobia and homophobia”, he explains, citing the STF’s understanding that these two crimes must be framed in the racism law.

For Alessandra Benedito, president of the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality of the OAB (Brazilian Bar Association), one of the strategies of racism is to blame the victim.

Another argument by the judges contested by experts is the denial that Adrierre was racist when he said “look at your color”. For the magistrates, the accused did not intend to offend a community, as defined by the law on crimes of racism, “but only to attack the honor of the victim, in an individualized way”.

Therefore, according to the rapporteur, the complaint by the Public Prosecutor’s Office should be racial slur.

“Do you mean that I’m the only one with this color in Brazil? When Adrierre says ‘look at your color’, he’s saying about all those people who have a similar color to mine”, says Fábio.

Adilson Moreira, PhD in Law from Harvard University and author of several books on the subject, believes that the differentiation of crimes imposed by magistrates prevents white people from being condemned for racism. “These defendants wouldn’t say that to white security guards, even if they were threatened,” he says.

In May, the Senate approved a bill that equates the crime of racial slur to racism, increasing the penalty to two to five years in prison – today, the crime carries a penalty of one to three years. The offense also becomes non-bailable and imprescriptible.

The proposal also provides for punishment for crimes committed in places where the public is present, such as football stadiums. There is also an increase in the penalty when the offenses are pronounced by two or more people. The text awaits a vote in the Chamber of Deputies.

In parallel with the criminal complaint, Fábio sues the two brothers for moral damages and awaits the progress of the action.

He recalls that, in the week following the incident and the repercussion in the press, he was forced to write a letter abdicating the legal and psychological support of the Police Station, a company that provided security services in Mineirão. THE Sheet could not contact the Squadron. The company went bankrupt in early 2021.

“It turned out that the episode of racism was the least vexing for me”, says Fábio.

Racism in the stadium continues

Other cases of racism have been recorded in recent months in football stadiums. One of the most recent was at Morumbi, in a match for the Brazilian Championship, between São Paulo and Fluminense, on the 17th. At the time, a São Paulo player was accused of imitating a monkey to offend the opposing fan. The scene was also recorded. According to the Civil Police, the São Paulo fan was identified and heard.

In April, a Boca Juniors fan was arrested at the Neo Química Arena on charges of offending Corinthians fans by imitating a monkey. He, however, posted bail and was released the next morning.