Judge orders the investigation into the accident and death of Eduardo Campos to be closed again

Judge Roberto Lemos dos Santos Filho, from the 5th Federal Court of Santos, on the coast of São Paulo, ordered that the investigation into the plane crash that killed the former governor of Pernambuco Eduardo Campos be returned to the archive. The magistrate had referred the case to the Attorney General’s Office following a request from lawyer Antônio Campos, Eduardo’s brother, but the body understood that there were no elements to reopen the investigation.

Eduardo Campos died in August 2014, victim of a plane crash in Santos during the presidential campaign.

Roberto Lemos’ order was signed on Monday, the 1st, after the decision of the 2nd Coordination and Review Chamber of the Federal Public Ministry – the body’s review body – decided to approve the archiving of the investigation.

The collegiate understood that there are no necessary elements to support the dismissal of the case, as requested by Antônio Campos.

Judge Roberto Lemos had referred the case to the PGR in November, to ‘ensure the review of the investigation and establish the correctness of the conclusion reached’ – in this case, the refusal of the Federal Public Ministry to reopen the case after ‘new facts’ presented by Antônio Campos to Justice.

The investigation into Eduardo Campos’ death was archived in 2019, with an inconclusive result. Investigators were unable to determine the exact cause of the aircraft crash and define those responsible for possible crimes or failures, raising four hypotheses for what happened.

The accident occurred at a time when Eduardo Campos was a candidate for President of the Republic. He was on a campaign schedule traveling from Rio de Janeiro to Guarujá when the plane, a 560XL model from the manufacturer Cessna Aircraft, crashed in a region of buildings and single-story houses in Santos.

Last July, almost ten years after the politician’s death, his brother Antônio Campos announced that he would ask for the case to be reopened. The request was based on a technical opinion of 246 pages. According to the lawyer, the petition brought to court also ‘brings a roadmap on how to reach those possibly responsible’ for what he calls a ‘provoked accident’, with ‘indications of murder’.

The Federal Public Ministry in Santos decided not to reopen the investigation. Antônio Campos contested the opinion, reiterating the ‘new facts’ before the 5th Federal Court of Santos. It was this request that judge Roberto Lemos sent to the PGR.

The assessment by the 2nd Chamber of the MPF followed the opinion of the first degree of the Federal Public Ministry in the sense that Eduardo Campos’ brother’s request ‘reproduces exactly the same grounds and requirements’ as other petitions he presented to the Court.

“The facts in question were duly investigated and, to date, no new evidence capable of altering the factual panorama already highlighted has been presented. The main arguments brought forward by the petition and the independent opinion were even expressly mentioned in the final report of the investigation”, noted the panel.