RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s government has asked Human Rights Minister Silvio Almeida to “provide clarification” to investigators over reports that he was involved in sexual harassment, the presidential palace said in a statement released around midnight Thursday, without providing any details about the allegations.
“The federal government recognizes the seriousness of the allegations and is treating the case with the rigor and speed that situations related to possible violence against women deserve,” the presidency statement said, adding that Almeida must provide explanations to Auditor General Vinícius Carvalho and Attorney General Jorge Messias.
Local media reported Thursday night that MeToo Brasil, an organization that defends female victims of sexual violence, had received complaints of sexual harassment by Almeida. The organization confirmed this in a later statement.
Almeida said in a statement that he “rejects with absolute vehemence the lies” he has been accused of, and condemned a “campaign to tarnish my image as a black man in a prominent position in government.”
He added that any such report should be fully investigated and that he would send official letters to the relevant government agencies, including the Ministry of Justice, to facilitate this. He also warned that false accusations are a crime.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will meet Almeida and the Minister for Racial Equality, Anielle Franco, on Friday, the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo reported. Local media have reported that Franco is among the victims who reported Almeida’s behavior, although she has not commented.
Brazil’s first lady Rosângela da Silva, better known as Janja, is a prominent voice for defending women’s rights. On Thursday, she posted a photo on her Instagram account of herself kissing Franco on the forehead in a sign of support.
“As often happens in cases of sexual violence involving aggressors in positions of power, these victims had difficulty obtaining institutional support to validate their complaints,” MeToo Brasil said in a statement Thursday. “As a result, they had the case confirmed to the press.”
