State assembly votes to free speaker in graft scandal

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November 17, 2017 10:36 PM

Rio de Janeiros state legislature voted Friday to overturn a court ruling that had put its scandal-plagued speaker in jail while he awaits trial on corruption charges.

The vote, which passed easily by 39 to 19 votes, was portrayed across Brazilian media and social networks as a particularly flagrant example of the impunity enjoyed by politicians accused of graft.

Jorge Picciani, a major Rio state political figure, was detained after being charged with running a corruption scheme in the transport sector. However, the assembly that he presided over argued it has authority to overturn a judge's ruling regarding members of the body.

Picciani is a member of the center-right PMDB party of President Michel Temer, himself the first president in Brazil to be charged with corruption while in office.

Temer allies have twice successfully voted in the national Congress to prevent the president being put on trial.

According to prosecutors, Picciani was part of a graft scheme headed by state governor Sergio Cabral, who a year ago was convicted and sentenced to more than 14 years prison.

Police outside the Rio legislature used tear gas to disperse about 100 protesters.

"I think Rio residents are fed up with everything, with what they've done with the city in the last 10 years," said protester Bernardo Boucas, 40. "They unleashed the chaos we have today with this political, economic and social crisis."

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