Pastor Tupirani da Hora Lores was sentenced to 18 years and 6 months in prison and 814 days fine for practicing, inducing or inciting discrimination against Jewish or Israeli people through posting videos and messages on social media. The sentence was handed down this Thursday (30), by Judge Valeria Caldi Magalhães, of the Federal Court.
Tupirani, leader of the Pentecostal Church Geração Jesus Cristo, was arrested during Operation Rofésh, by the Federal Police (PF), in February this year. According to the Federal Public Ministry (MPF), he is known for promoting hate speech against the Jewish population and had already been the target of Operation Shalon, which began in March last year.
According to the PF, investigations revealed that the pastor produced and published several videos with attacks on Jews and members of other religions.
The crime news that based the 2020 operation had videos of a face-to-face service, at the congregation’s headquarters, in which Tupirani da Hora Lores asked God to massacre the Jews, to humiliate them, and called for “they be ashamed, as on Monday”. War, and have no strength to raise their servants.”
In another passage, Tupirani demanded divine actions against the Jews and referred to the dispute over the lands of the state of Israel and the Jewish diaspora in an offensive way. “They went out to the nations to share their inheritance for their own benefit, they lay with harlots, Lord. They made alliances, served evil and wished to feed on the acorns and locust beans of the pigs, God. Because they were left with nothing,” he said.
In 2009, Tupirani became the first person convicted of religious intolerance in Brazil. Four years later, he and other members of the religious denomination were arrested for racism, homophobia and xenophobia.
In Rio de Janeiro, the Geração Jesus Cristo Church is known for spreading posters around the city with the inscription “Bible yes, Constitution no”.
For Ricardo Sidi, criminal lawyer for the Confederação Israelita do Brasil (Conib), “it is a historic sentence in the fight against anti-Semitism. It is the biggest penalty applied in Brazil for this type of crime, which will help to inhibit this odious practice.”
(*With information from Stéfano Salles, from CNN)
Source: CNN Brasil
