STJ Upholds Conviction of Allan dos Santos for Calumny Against Filmmaker Estela Renner

Overview

• The Superior Court of Justice maintained the Rio Grande do Sul court’s sentence of one year, seven months and one day of detention.
• The case arises from a 2017 video in which the blogger falsely accused Estela Renner of encouraging drug use by children and insinuated illegal use of public funds.
• The majority followed Minister Sebastião Reis Júnior’s divergent vote applying Súmula 7, which bars reassessment of facts and evidence at this stage.
• Rapporteur Antonio Saldanha Palheiro dissented by proposing reclassification to insult and recognizing prescription, but his view did not prevail.
• Beyond the criminal sentence, the ruling preserves moral damages owed to Renner, and dos Santos remains a fugitive in the United States under a 2021 preventive arrest order and ongoing STF inquiries.