Brazilian President Lula da Silva on Friday dismissed Human Rights Minister Silvio Almeida following allegations of sexual harassment. “Given the serious accusations against Minister Silvio Almeida and after calling him to a conversation, the President considers it untenable to keep the minister in office considering the nature of the accusations of sexual harassment,” the statement reads.

The note highlights that the Brazilian government reiterates its “commitment to Human Rights and reaffirms that “No form of violence against women will be tolerated.”

The Brazilian president had already admitted the dismissal of Minister Silvio Almeida. In a statement, the Brazilian government acknowledged on Thursday the “seriousness of the accusations” against the official and stated that “the case is being treated with the rigor and speed required in situations of possible violence against women.” In addition, the Ethics Committee of the Presidency of the Republic decided to open an investigation into the case.

In turn, the accusations were “vehemently repudiated” by Silvio Almeida, who, also in a statement, said that they were “absurd conclusions” with the sole objective of harming him. The head of the Human Rights portfolio stressed that all complaints “must be investigated with all the rigor of the law, but for this to happen it is necessary that the The facts are presented so that they can be investigated and prosecuted.and not just based on lies, without evidence.”

Since these accusations were made public, the Brazilian minister has formally asked the Attorney General’s Office, the Comptroller General of the Union and the Public Ethics Commission to investigate the episodes of which he is accused.

Professor and city council candidate accuses Brazilian minister of sexual harassment

Following the accusations, the first allegations of sexual harassment have come to light. A teacher and candidate for city council in Brazil has accused the Minister of Human Rights of sexual harassment, becoming the first woman to remain anonymous following complaints from the non-governmental organization (NGO) Me Too.

Isabel Rodrigues, a candidate for councilor in Santo André, a municipality in São Paulo, for the Socialist Party, shared a video on her social networks saying that, five years ago, during a lunch with students of a law course led by the now minister Sílvio Almeida, he was sitting next to her and, at one point, he passed his hand under her skirt.

“He lifted my skirt and put his hand on my private parts, willingly. “I was shocked, I was ashamed of people, because that is how victims feel.” Isabel Rodrigues explained.

The candidate for councilor also said that after lunch she called the current Minister of Human Rights and told him: “You committed sexual violence against me, you are a lawyer and you know that this is violence.”

The accusations against Sílvio Almeida, the only black minister in the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and who claims to be the victim of a racist “campaign”, were published by the website Metrópoles and confirmed by the organization Me Too, according to which several women, whose identities are being kept secret, have denounced him.