Overview
- The 3rd Criminal Chamber of Rio’s Court of Justice overturned Judge Juliana Benevides’s decision and approved the trancamento of the action on October 28.
- The panel deemed the judge’s order “unmotivated,” saying it failed to address defense arguments or the Public Prosecutor’s detailed filing urging rejection of the complaint.
- On May 28, prosecutor Luís Augusto Soares de Andrade advised against receiving the charges, citing imprecise dates, generic locations, and message exchanges that did not demonstrate constraint.
- Before the reversal, Benevides had ordered the case to proceed and scheduled initial hearings, leading the defense to file the habeas corpus.
- The case is now suspended until the judge issues a new, fully reasoned decision or revises her prior ruling; Melhem became a defendant in August 2023 based on three complaints from an inquiry opened in 2020 with about 2,400 pages.