The Guarulhos Court, in Greater São Paulo, decided that the hearing in the case of Haider Mehrzes – a Tunisian who died of poisoning – must include an Arabic translator. The foreigner is one of four victims attributed to twin sisters Ana Paula Veloso Fernandez and Roberta Cristina Veloso Fernandez, who remain imprisoned for an indefinite period.
This action was taken because one of the key witnesses, Hazem Mahrez, the victim’s brother, does not speak Portuguese and will be heard between April 6 and 8 next year, when the defendants will, for the first time, face full judicial interrogation.
The translator will be responsible for translating each question and answer during the testimony of a Haider Mehrzes family member. The order came with the same order that kept the two defendants in pretrial detention — a decision based on an assessment that they represented a “clear danger” and could interfere with the collection of evidence if they were released.
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Conditional closure.
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Ana Paula Veloso, identified by police as Guarulhos’ serial killer
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Victims of serial killer Ana Paula Veloso
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Ana Paula Veloso, identified by police as Guarulhos’ serial killer
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Ana Paula Veloso, identified by police as Guarulhos’ serial killer
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The criminal has been in prison since September
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Poison was found in her home
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Ana Paula Veloso Fernandez, described by police as Guarulhos’ serial killer
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Ana Paula Veloso Fernandez, described by police as Guarulhos’ serial killer
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Roberta Veloso, sister of serial killer Guarulhos Ana Paula Veloso, has also been charged with 4 murders.
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One of the victims was killed after meeting him on the app
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The accused was involved in at least four poisoning deaths
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Ana Paula confessed to the police that she had killed her roommate
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The translator’s summons is another chapter in a case that has gained international scope. how Capitals It was revealed that the body of the Tunisian buried in his country of origin will be exhumed at the request of the civil police in Sao Paulo. This measure will allow for a new toxicology examination, because the blood collected in Brazil was insufficient to detect rapidly metabolized substances, which are often responsible for deaths from poisoning.
Audience scenario
The April hearing was organized as a three-day block, a practice used in murder cases involving a large number of witnesses. On the sixth day, interviews will be conducted with Brazilians who lived with Haider and know details of the victim’s recent movements. On the seventh of this month, three Brazilians and Hazem Mehrzes entered the place, who demanded the need for a translator. On the 8th, at the end of the session, the accused Ana Paula and Roberta will be interrogated in person.
The two denied their participation in the crimes and tried, in vain, to end the operation before the investigation stage. Both, through the defence, said the complaint was based on “partial evidence” and “weak assumptions.” The judge rejected these arguments because he considered that there were sufficient elements to continue the investigation.
What are Hearing Instructions?
In legal terminology, an evidentiary hearing is the moment when the judiciary “opens the surface” of the process: witnesses are heard under oath; Both sides ask direct questions with the potential for confrontation; Defendants speak to the judge and can respond or remain silent. Thus, the judge ultimately leaves behind the material necessary to form a conviction of guilt or innocence.
Death crosses borders
The death of Haider Mehrzis crossed the borders. The body was quickly sent to Tunisia, and only now – under pressure from the Brazilian investigation – will it undergo a more in-depth analysis.
The Sao Paulo Civil Police, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Brazilian Embassy in Tunisia, and Interpol participated in facilitating the exhumation. The family, who initially resisted the procedure for religious reasons, ended up allowing the exhumation.
It is expected that Hazem, with the help of the translator who will translate the questions and answers literally, will detail what he saw and heard before and after his brother’s death. Your testimony can strengthen or weaken the hypothesis of poisoning – a central point in determining the course of the case against Ana Paula and Roberta in one of the four deaths attributed to the sisters.