Urgent: Appellate Court Upholds Zé Maria’s Conviction for Criticizing the State of Israel and the Genocide in Gaza
This decision will not silence us or cause the PSTU to back down from its unconditional defense of the Palestinian people’s struggle and freedom of expression
At the appeal hearing for the two-year sentence of house arrest imposed on the national president of the PSTU, José Maria de Almeida, for defending the struggle of the Palestinian people—held on the morning of Thursday, the 24th, by the 11th Panel of the Federal Regional Court of the 3rd Region (TRF-3)—the court upheld, for now, this illegal, illegitimate, and arbitrary decision.
The reporting judge in the case voted to uphold the conviction; the second judge requested a recess (to suspend the hearing in order to further study the case before opining); yet, despite this, the third judge made a point of casting his vote in favor of the lower court’s decision. As a result, the trial will resume in 90 days time, but the vote in favor of his conviction has already been cast, despite its complete lack of legal basis, and that its decree is equivalent to the criminalization of support for the Palestinian people’s struggle and resistance.
Start of the rally that accompanied the hearing on the appeal against Zé Maria’s conviction
Rally and campaign against the conviction
While outside the TRF-3, a delegated demonstration of 150 people from various organizations supporting the Palestinian cause, political parties, labor unions, and social movements protested against Zé Maria’s conviction and against the genocide committed by the State of Israel, inside the building, the court’s president himself pressed for the session to end quickly, even citing the number of emails received during the campaign for the acquittal of the PSTU president as cause.
The demonstration was not limited to defending Zé Maria, but linked the trial to the attempt to criminalize the Palestinian people’s struggle and to the defense of democratic freedoms and freedom of expression. At this moment, Zionist organizations, such as CONIB (Israeli Confederation of Brazil), are persecuting activists across the country who dare to criticize the war of ethnic cleansing waged by the State of Israel in Palestine. There are also actions against journalist Breno Altman, PT leader José Genoíno, activists from the São Paulo Palestinian Front—such as Soraya Misleh, Muhammad Kadri, and Rawa Al-Sagheer—and against the Palestinian bar and cultural center Al-Janiah.
Also part of the campaign against the Palestinian people and to shield the State of Israel from any criticism is Bill 1,424/26, introduced by Representative Tabata Amaral (PSB-SP), which equates anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism, falsely equating opposition to a supremacist ideology—one that provides the basis for genocide in Palestine—with the crime of racism against an entire ethnic group.
“We must view this ruling as a reflection of the Brazilian state’s justice system, which, through the decision it made today, condemned those who are dying and acquitted those who are killing,” stated Zé Maria. The PSTU leader also stated that this decision, if upheld, echoes that of the trial judge who, instead of protecting the right to freedom of expression—including criticism of the State of Israel and the defense of the Palestinian people–– “chose to defend the genocide.”
It is time to intensify the campaign
“There is no court ruling, regardless of the level of the court, that will change our opinion or stop our struggle,” stated Zé Maria. The PSTU leader outlines two main tasks: to continue the campaign against the conviction and persecution that not only he but also many other activists are facing in this attempt to silence the voices defending the Palestinian people. And the other, fundamental struggle—which is the very purpose of this conviction—is the struggle for the liberation of the Palestinian people and an end to the genocide.
“Ultimately, what they want to condemn is the struggle of the Palestinian people; what they want to legitimize is the genocide perpetrated by the State of Israel; and what we will say is: No! This will not come to pass! Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea,” affirms Zé Maria. “Through the struggle of the Palestinian people and workers around the world, we will put an end to this racist and colonialist State of Israel, an end to this genocide, and, together with the Palestinian people, we will not be stopped by a ruling in the first, second, or tenth instance,” he emphasizes.
Visit the campaign website and sign the petition against the conviction
