Rio de Janeiro Court annuls cell phone data breach for Jairinho

The 7th Criminal Chamber of the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice (TJRJ) has unanimously annulled the decision to breach the privacy and extract data from a cell phone seized from Jairo Souza Santos Júnior, known as Jairinho. The former councilman is currently serving a 43-year sentence for the murder and torture of Henry Borel.

The device was discovered on July 1, 2026, during a search at the Pedrolino Werling de Oliveira prison in Bangu. The court ruled that the 2nd Criminal Court of the Capital lacked the jurisdiction to authorize such an invasive measure, as the seizure occurred after the Jury Trial had concluded and the case had moved into the sentencing execution phase.

As a result of the ruling, all previous data extractions or analyses based on the annulled authorization are considered void. The court ordered that the device be returned to the custody of the 34th Police Station in Bangu to preserve the chain of custody. While this decision invalidates the previous authorization, it does not prevent the Public Ministry from submitting a new, properly founded request to the competent Execution Court to seek access to the device's contents.