The defense of former doctor Roger Abdelmassih, 82, asked the court to grant him a humanitarian house arrest due to his state of health and what he described as “risk of sudden death”.
Abdelmassih is serving a sentence of 173 years, six months and 18 days in prison after being convicted of sex crimes against 37 patients, some of whom were sedated during medical procedures. The affair was revealed by Leaf in 2009 in a report by journalist Lilian Christofoletti.
The crimes took place between 1995 and 2008. He always denied all accusations and even stated that the patients may have suffered from hallucinations caused by a drug used during in vitro fertilization treatment.
The former doctor, who was one of the most famous specialists in assisted reproduction in the country, is currently in an individual cell in the Dr. José Augusto Salgado penitentiary, known as Tremembé II, in the town of the same name, in Vale do Paraíba, São Paulo. Nicknamed the prison of celebrities, the penitentiary was featured in the series Tremembé, on Prime Vídeo.
The request for humanitarian arrest was made by lawyer Larissa Abdelmassih, wife of the former doctor. In court, she said her husband “suffered from a serious and lifelong heart condition, the symptoms of which have worsened in recent years, requiring ongoing care.”
According to the petition, “the prison, no matter how good it is, is not able to provide” this ongoing care. Citing the opinion of a doctor who examined him in September at the prison, the defense said that “there is a strong possibility that he will need a pacemaker, with a risk of sudden death.” He also said the former doctor needed access to emergency cardiology care.
“Abdelmassih suffers from a serious illness that makes him incapable and dependent on help from others for daily activities. There is no possibility of recovery. His illness is progressive, it only gets worse,” he said. “Keeping him in prison amounts to imposing an excessive sentence on him, greater than the sentence to which he was sentenced, which is not in accordance with the principle of human dignity.”
The lawyer cites in his request former President Fernando Collor, who in May was granted humanitarian house arrest due to serious illnesses, including Parkinson’s disease, severe sleep apnea and bipolar affective disorder.
A similar request had already been refused in 2023.
The public prosecutor took a position against the request for humanitarian house arrest. “Despite the new tests carried out, no real worsening of his clinical condition was noted which could justify the reformulation of the request for house arrest,” prosecutor Mary Ann Nardo told the court. “The professional hired by the defense indicates the possible need for a pacemaker implant, but does not actually prescribe it.”
The request has not yet been analyzed by the Court.
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