STJ Justice Denies Immediate Release for Deolane Bezerra

Overview

• An individual ruling by STJ minister Ribeiro Dantas denied the defense's urgent request for immediate release on Wednesday, leaving Deolane Bezerra in preventive detention.
• Deolane has been held since her arrest in Operação Vérnix in late May and the court record shows repeated habeas corpus bids to convert her custody to house arrest or electronic monitoring.
• On June 18 a São Paulo judge accepted the public prosecutor's denúncia, making Deolane and alleged PCC leader Marcola formal defendants on charges of organization and money laundering.
• Investigators say the probe began after prison notes seized at Presidente Venceslau pointed to PCC money routes and that a freight company allegedly served as a front to move funds to Marcola's circle.
• The habeas corpus file is under segredo de Justiça and the defense, which denies any criminal link and says her income is lawful, will press the case at a 5ª Turma hearing set for August while her custody continues to affect her role as a mother.