Alfredo Gaspar, a vice-presidential candidate in Brazil, said federal justice took too long to close an investigation into a rape allegation against him.
The Supreme Federal Court ended the investigation on the evening of October 6. Justice Gilmar Mendes granted a request from the Federal Prosecutor General’s Office, which cited insufficient evidence and contradictions in witness statements, CNN Brasil reported.
Gaspar, a Liberal Party (PL) lawmaker running on Flávio Bolsonaro’s ticket, told reporters on Wednesday that he had called the accusation a lie from the first day. It had been made by lawmaker Lindbergh Farias and Senator Soraya Thronicke. Federal Police had also asked for the case to be investigated.
The decision to close the investigation is not a conviction or a judicial finding of guilt. Gaspar criticized the time it took after the court ordered the case closed.