Brazil’s federal police have formally accused Silvio Almeida, a former human rights minister in President Lula’s government, of sexual misconduct. Prosecutors will decide whether to file charges; if they do, the Supreme Court will determine whether the case goes to trial. Almeida was dismissed last September after complaints gathered by MeToo Brazil; one alleged victim named in reports is Minister for Racial Equality Anielle Franco. The accusations are a political setback amid rising rates of violence against women in Brazil.
Former Lula Human Rights Minister Silvio Almeida Formally Accused of Sexual Misconduct
Brazil’s federal police have formally accused Silvio Almeida, a former human rights minister in President Lula’s government, of sexual misconduct. Prosecutors will decide whether to file charges; if they do, the Supreme Court will determine whether the case goes to trial. Almeida was dismissed last September after complaints gathered by MeToo Brazil; one alleged victim named in reports is Minister for Racial Equality Anielle Franco. The accusations are a political setback amid rising rates of violence against women in Brazil.
02:48 AM, 11/16/2025Politics
RIO DE JANEIRO — Former Human Rights Minister Accused
Brazil’s federal police have formally accused Silvio Almeida, who served as minister for human rights under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, of sexual misconduct, a police official said Saturday.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly. Prosecutors must now decide whether to press charges; if they do, the Supreme Court will determine whether the case proceeds to trial.
Local media reported that police filed the formal accusation on Friday. Almeida has denied wrongdoing in previous statements and has not commented since the report.
Almeida was dismissed by President Lula in September after MeToo Brazil, an organization supporting women who are victims of sexual violence, said it had received complaints alleging misconduct by the former minister. The press identified Anielle Franco, the minister for racial equality, as one of the alleged victims; Franco publicly supported Lula’s decision to remove Almeida.
Franco first entered public life following the 2018 murder of her sister, Marielle Franco, a Rio de Janeiro councilwoman whose killing drew international attention. Almeida, a Black law professor, had been one of the government’s most visible voices on racial justice — making the accusations a significant political setback for Lula’s administration.
Last year, Isabel Rodrigues, a professor in São Paulo state, accused Almeida of sexual assault. On Saturday she wrote on Instagram:
"There’s still a long way to go before effective justice in this case. As a victim I have something to say: don’t let go of the hands of women."
Violence against women remains a major problem in Brazil. A 2025 report by the Brazilian Forum on Public Safety found that more than one in three women experienced sexual or gender‑based violence over the course of a year — the highest rate since records began in 2017 — and that all measured forms of violence against women have increased.