RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Rio de Janeiro Court of Appeals Judge Paulo Rangel on Wednesday afternoon suspended the vaccine passport in the city. The magistrate understood that a municipal decree can never “prevent the freedom of movement of anyone for not being vaccinated.” Only the measures that ban access to unvaccinated people were suspended.
“The decree remains in force regarding the other measures that do not affect freedom of movement, and any citizen is allowed to move freely through the locations mentioned in the decree irrespective of a vaccination card,” the judge said in his ruling.
Proving vaccination against Covid-19 in order to access public places has been required in Rio since September 15.
People must present one of the documents in order to access and remain in venues such as movie theaters, theaters and gyms. The suspension of the passport had been considered in another lawsuit in the Court of Appeals, but the request for suspension was denied at the time.
JUDGE CITES HITLER
According to Judge Paulo Rangel, the vaccine passport “divides society into two types: vaccinated and unvaccinated.” The magistrate also says that it is hypocrisy “not to see that public transportation is crowded with people. The subway, ferries and buses likewise.”
“The mayor is dictating who can or can not walk the streets: only those who have been vaccinated. What about the unvaccinated? They are not allowed to walk around the city. Their freedom of movement is restricted. They are marked, labeled, imprisoned in their residences. And as incredible as it may seem, all this by means of a decree,” the Judge said.
Rangel called it a “health dictatorship” and said that the vaccine card is an “act that stigmatizes people, creating a derogatory label and preventing them from freely moving through the streets, with a clear goal of social control.” The Judge also compares the vaccine passport to the marking of slaves and cattle in the past, and even mentioned Hitler:
“If in the past slaves and cattle were branded with fire using a branding iron, today it’s the vaccine passport that separates society. Time passes, but the abusive, illegal and retrograde practices are the same. What changes are the characters and time,” the judge says in his ruling.
“Another one who knew how to instill in people the fear of enemies was Hitler, who, through Nazi propaganda, incited the fear of Jews and gypsies in the population. It was necessary to annihilate them in order to defend oneself,” the judge transcribed an excerpt from a book in his decision.