BRASILIA, Sept 9 (Reuters) – Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Flavio Dino ordered the immediate reinstatement of federal police chief Andrei Rodrigues, a court document showed on Wednesday, as the judge argued the removal would affect investigations under his supervision.
The ruling came just one day after Justice Andre Mendonca ordered Rodrigues’ suspension from his post, marking a new chapter in a conflict that has engulfed the top court and as Brazil heads into a presidential election next month.
Mendonca last week disclosed a report raising questions about alleged contact between Justice Alexandre de Moraes and a banker accused of leading a multibillion-dollar fraud scheme, prompting calls for an investigation of the justice.
Moraes responded by seeking an investigation into Mendonca for alleged abuse of authority, citing federal police intelligence reports that Mendonca has now challenged as illegal.
Mendonca then ordered the preventive suspension of Rodrigues, the director-general of the Federal Police, and Leandro Almada, the agency’s intelligence chief, over their alleged involvement in the production of the reports.
“The risk of harm is equally real and immediate, as the suspensions have a direct impact on ongoing investigations under the supervision of this office,” Dino said, extending the order to reinstate Almada as well.
The justice also ordered that no new precautionary measures should target Rodrigues and Almada based exclusively on acts performed in the regular exercise of their official duties.
(Reporting by Ricardo Brito; Writing by Fernando Cardoso; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Gareth Jones)
