MEDEL observed with great concern the violent attacks in 2023 and the 2024 attempted bombing in the heart of Brazilian democracy. The invasion that vandalised the premises of the Federal Supreme Court, the Congress and the Presidential Palace, echoing the assault on Capitol Hill, proves the enormous scale of the threats to which democratic institutions and independent judicial systems are exposed as a result of violent practices aimed at subverting their decisions or preventing them from functioning. Such violent attacks, as warned by the European Parliament, are a global phenomenon.
The sanctions recently imposed by the US administration, under the Global Magnitsky Act, against a sitting Supreme Court judge for his role in the case concerning the former Brazilian president, are yet another example of the worrying trend of targeting judicial officials abroad in retaliation for acts performed in their professional capacity and deliberately conflict with the original purpose of an instrument designed to address gross human rights violations and significant corruption worldwide.
In a context of global threats to democracy and to a rules-based world order, MEDEL
recalls that:
– the independence of the judiciary and its proper functioning are essential to maintaining democracy and protecting fundamental rights;
– the exercise of democratic rights and freedoms must take place with respect for all democratic institutions and their constitutional functions;
urges national and international authorities to ensure compliance with international standards providing that judges and courts must be protected from inappropriate or unwarranted interference and from any act of harassment or threat;
expresses its full solidarity with the judiciary and all democratic institutions in Brazil targeted by acts of violence and attempts of undue interference with their work;
remains committed to supporting independent justice as a universal value and all those judges who, guided by constitutional principles and the rule of law, act to protect democracy, fundamental rights and freedoms.
September 23, 2025
1 European Parliament resolution of 19 January 2023 on the storming of the Brazilian democratic institutions (2023/2505(RSP))
Statement on Brazil (.pdf)