Brazil’s Supreme Court Panel Accepts Charges in Case Over In-Flight Harassment of Minister Flávio Dino

Overview

• The Supreme Court’s 1st Panel unanimously received the Prosecutor General’s complaint on December 22, with the decision published on January 16.
• Maria Shirlei Piontkievicz, a 57-year-old nurse, is now a defendant on charges of insult, incitement to crime, and endangering air transport security.
• Case records describe Piontkievicz identifying Dino during boarding, calling him “trash,” shouting that the plane was “contaminated,” and attempting aggression before security and federal police intervened.
• Justice Alexandre de Moraes’s vote prevailed and was joined by Justices Cristiano Zanin and Cármen Lúcia, while Dino declared himself impeded from the vote.
• The proceeding is under seal, the defense challenges jurisdiction and the adequacy of the complaint, and the action moves to the instruction phase with no trial date set.