Statement from Trade Union Federations in Solidarity with Zé Maria
Solidarity with Zé Maria! Against arbitrariness, censorship, and repression
Statement published on April 30, 2026
Link (Portuguese) – https://www.cut.org.br/noticias/solidariedade-a-ze-maria-contra-arbitrariedade-censura-e-repressao-7a04
Brazilian trade union centers repudiate the conviction imposed by the 4th Federal Criminal Court of São Paulo on the national president of the PSTU, José Maria de Almeida. He was sentenced to two years in prison, in an open regime, for a speech in which he denounced crimes attributed to the State of Israel and expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people.
For the entities, the decision represents a serious attack on freedom of expression and a restriction on international solidarity. The conviction is part of a broader context of persecution of voices that denounce what they classify as genocide of the Palestinian people.
The trade union centers highlight that this case adds to legal actions against journalist Breno Altman, as well as against activists from the São Paulo Palestine Front, such as Soraya Misleh, Muhammad Kadri, and Rawa Al-Sagheer, and against the Palestinian bar and cultural center Al Janiah.
Given this scenario, the trade union centers express solidarity with José Maria de Almeida and all activists and journalists affected by similar lawsuits. The entities advocate revising the sentence in light of constitutional guarantees and the right to free expression.
São Paulo, April 29, 2026
Sérgio Nobre, president of CUT (Central Única dos Trabalhadores)
Miguel Torres, president of Força Sindical
Ricardo Patah, president of UGT (União Geral dos Trabalhadores)
Adilson Araújo, president of CTB (Central dos Trabalhadores e Trabalhadoras do Brasil)
Antônio Neto, president of CSB (Central dos Sindicatos Brasileiros)
Sonia Zerino, president of NCST (Nova Central Sindical de Trabalhadores)
Nilza Pereira, secretary-general of Intersindical
José Gozze, president of Pública
Emanuel Melato, president of Intersindical Instrumento de Luta
Atnágoras Teixeira Lopes, Executive Secretary of CSP Conlutas
