The relaunch of “Advocacy of Freedom – The Defense in Political Processes” by Heleno Fragoso, founder of Fragoso Advogados and prominent human rights defender during the dictatorship in Brazil, was the main headline in Elio Gaspari’s newspaper columns O Globo e Folha de S. Paulo, in print and digital editions on Sunday, August 2.
Autor de uma celebrada série de cinco livros sobre a ditadura, Gaspari destacou a história de Heleno e sua atuação em alguns dos casos descritos pelo jurista no livro. Entre os exemplos, estão a defesa de Niomar Moniz Sodré Bittencourt, dona do jornal Correio da Manhã, presa em 1969, e de sindicalistas metalúrgicos de São Paulo, presos por conta da deflagração de uma greve em 1980. O presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva era um dos líderes do movimento.
Na coluna, Gaspari classificou Heleno como “advogado acima de tudo” e “um destemido defensor de presos políticos”. “Só advogados como Heleno Fragoso defendiam o fiapo de direito que ainda existia”, escreveu o jornalista.
Heleno’s work, originally published in 1984 and relaunched in the year of his centenary, was updated by his grandsons Christiano, Rodrigo, and João Pedro Fragoso—all lawyers and partners at the firm founded by their grandfather in 1952. They are the sons of Heleno’s sons, Fernando and José Carlos Fragoso, who passed away in 2023 and 2003, respectively. The preface is written by Nilo Batista, interim governor of Rio de Janeiro in 1994, who openly described Heleno as his “father in Criminal Law and criminal defense.”
Published by Revista dos Tribunais/Thomson Reuters, the book will be launched at a seminar at the Brazilian Institute of Criminal Sciences (IBCCRIM), from August 26 to 28, during Lawyers’ Month, in São Paulo (SP). The book is now available for pre-order on the publisher’s website.
