It is the crime of lying before a judge in a court of law. In Brazil, it is called false testimony, as stated in Article 342 of the Penal Code, which says it is illegal to “make a false statement, deny or silence the truth” in police investigations or legal proceedings. The law provides for imprisonment of one to three years, in addition to a fine for the offender. If he received bribes to tell the lie, his sentence increases. But if you tell the truth before the end of the process, you are forgiven. Another curiosity: “Under Brazilian law, perjury committed by an accused is not a crime”, explains lawyer Fábio Amorim, because in Brazil no one is obliged to produce evidence against himself. “A person in the condition of defendant is not obligated to tell the truth.” In the US, perjury is a crime even for the defendant. There, in addition to witnesses and experts, the accused are also required to swear that they will tell “the truth and only the truth” throughout the process.
SOURCES Websites jusbrasil It is Public Petition and article Absence of the Crime of Perjury at the Brazilian Legal Systemby Marco Aurélio Gonçalves Ferreira
CONSULTANCY Fábio Amorim, lawyer specializing in civil, labor, tax and constitutional procedural law