In a decision on the offense of honor, judged on May 4, judges Baeta Neves, Aparecida Grossi and Arnaldo Maciel, from the 17th Civil Chamber of the Court of Justice of the State of Minas Gerais, upheld the conviction of Alexandre Kalil and Atlético-MG. MG for offenses, pronounced in 2014, against the honor of the judge of the 26th Federal Court, André Gonçalves de Oliveira Salce. In the decision, the judges still rejected the prescription request and appeals presented by the club and the licensed mayor of Belo Horizonte.
The case took place in November 2014, after the pre-candidate for the government of Minas Gerais, at the time president of Atlético-MG, offended federal judge André Gonçalves on his social media, after the magistrate blocked the club’s access to income. of the box office of the first match of the final of the Copa do Brasil, played between Atlético and Cruzeiro.
The blockade was carried out at the request of the National Treasury to settle debts. Kalil even accused the federal judge of being an abuser of women. In addition, Atlético published a note on its pages in which it raised the hypothesis that the magistrate had blocked box office income for “clubism” and “opportunism”.
In 2018, André Gonçalves filed a lawsuit and requested compensation for moral damages. In the lower court decision, Kalil and Atlético-MG were ordered to pay R$66,000 in compensation to the judge, in addition to legal fees. As they did not agree with the punishment, the club and the licensed mayor filed resources that were appreciated by the judges of the 17th Civil Chamber of TJ-MG.
In the appeal, the accused asked that the case be prescribed, which was denied, because according to the judge Baeta Neves, rapporteur of the case, “the facts are still under investigation by the criminal court” and because the responsibilities of the club and the mayor are provided for in the Civil Code.
Another appeal rejected was Atlético-MG’s request to appear in the passive and non-active pole of the action. According to the judges, it is not possible to meet the demand, as the club also published content against judge André Gonçalves on its official website.
The judges also rejected the request for annulment of the sentence in the first instance. According to Kalil and Atlético, the lower court judge who ruled on the action did not allow the defense to present new evidence. However, according to the rapporteur, the procedures were followed correctly and the accused presented their final defenses without expressing opposition within the legal deadlines.
“It appears that the appellants exercised and had the opportunity to exercise the adversary system to the fullest extent, and cannot now wish to avail themselves of the non-existent restriction of defense, to modify the decision that was unfavorable to them”, wrote the rapporteur.
In the last resort, the judges voted to maintain the sentence against Kalil and Atlético-MG, but reduced the amount of compensation to R$ 40 thousand. Each of the accused will be responsible for the payment of R$ 20 thousand, plus the costs of the process.
According to the rapporteur, the former president and the club itself “extrapolated the limit of reason” by offending the professional and personal honor of federal judge André Gonçalves. According to the decision, even if the magistrate had “acted with possible excess” by blocking the club’s resources, Kalil and Atlético should have resorted to legal channels to resolve the issue.
wanted by CNN , the pre-candidate for the government of Minas Gerais, Alexandre Kalil, said the following: “When president of Atlético, I defended the club fighting against everything and everyone. I fulfilled my obligation.”
Atlético-MG representatives said that the club will not position itself on the matter.
The report also sought federal judge André Gonçalves, but did not receive a response until the publication of this article.
Source: CNN Brasil
