Abin agents threaten strike to demand removal of director indicted by PF

The employees of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin) released a statement this Friday, the 20th, calling for a meeting for next Monday, the 23rd. During the meeting, the demand for the removal of the entity's director-general, Luiz Fernando Corrêa, will be discussed. The category also debates the possibility of declaring a strike to pressure the current director to leave. Abin says it is cooperating with the investigations.

On Tuesday, the 17th, the employees had already asked for Corrêa's resignation. The high-ranking employee, who remains in control of the agency, is suspected of hindering investigations into the manipulation of the Brazilian intelligence service for political purposes by former president Jair Bolsonaro.

Corrêa, who was kept in his position as director-general by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), is among the 35 people indicted by the Federal Police in the final report of the investigation into the “parallel Abin”, a structure that was allegedly used by former President Jair Bolsonaro to illegally spy on his political opponents and attack electronic voting machines. He may have acted in “collusion” with officials under investigation to hinder investigations.

In the note released today, Intelis (Union of State Intelligence Professionals of Abin) expresses discontent with the maintenance of the indicted director-general in the position and cites “lack of dialogue and actions by the Minister of the Civil House with the civil servants”.

During the meeting, civil servants must deliberate “on the indication of a strike in protest against the treatment given by the federal government to Brazilian State Intelligence”.

The entity also uses the statement to cite other problems, such as “the lack of control over confidential matters by the Federal Police and the Ministry of Justice”.

In a report produced by the Federal Police (PF), councilor Carlos Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) is cited as the “mastermind” of an illegal espionage structure created during his father's government.

The scheme that became known as “Parallel Abin” would have spied on almost 1,800 cell phones in the Bolsonaro government, among the targets were public servants, ministers, journalists, artists and deputies.