Justice makes defendant president of JAC Motors Brazil for talking about PCDs
The São Paulo court made businessman Sergio Habib, president of JAC Motors Brazil, for alleged discrimination against people with disabilities (PCDs). The decision was taken by the 5th Criminal Court of the Barra Funda Forum on June 6, after a complaint filed by the São Paulo Public Prosecution Service (MP-SP).
Habib was denounced for statements made during an interview with Podcast Primocast in May 2024. At the time, the businessman criticized the tax exemptions granted to PCDs in vehicle purchase, stating that the end of these incentives could reduce car prices by up to 5% for the general consumer.
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“Ends with disabled physique and you download the price of cars by 5%. We sell car to disabled, people, people buy cars ‘to’ disabled, people like us, there is no problem. If it is deaf from a ear, you are already disabled. It is a shame the physically disabled in Brazil,” said Habib during the interview.
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Public Prosecution Service sees discriminatory use of the media
Prosecutor Natália Rosalem Cardoso, from the Special Group to Combat Racial and Intolerance Crimes (Gecradi), maintains that the statements constitute use of media to promote discrimination against people with disabilities, typifying a crime provided for in criminal law.
The complaint includes a claim for Habib to be ordered to pay compensation for collective moral damages in the amount of 20 minimum wages. The court determined that the entrepreneur present a defense within 10 days from formal citation.
Defense says he speaks was taken from context
In a statement, JAC Motors Brazil stated that the businessman’s statement was taken from context. According to the company, the phrase “ends the disabled” would have referred to the extinction of the tax category of PCD vehicles, not to people with disabilities itself.
The company also cites a previous filing of a similar inquiry made by the Rio de Janeiro Public Prosecution Service, which considered that there was no criminal practice in the interview, understanding that the lines concerned the tax policy and not to personal issues.
