There was huge public backlash in December 2019 when a film was released to Netflix portraying Jesus as gay (Porta dos Fundos/ Twitter)
A man who bombarded a film studio with Molotov cocktails over a film that portrayed Jesus as a gay man is seeking asylum in Russia.
Eduardo Fauzi, one of the men who set the studio ablaze on 24 December, 2019, was arrested in Russia following the shocking incident – and he is now seeking political asylum in the country, his lawyer Vitaly Chernykh told TASS.
Fauzi and his accomplices allegedly threw Molotov cocktails at Porta dos Fundos’ studio in Rio de Janeiro on Christmas Eve in 2019 after the company made a parody film called The First Temptation of Christ, which portrays Jesus bringing his boyfriend Orlando home to meet the Holy Family.
He was arrested in absentia by a court in Rio de Janeiro in December 2019 over his role in the attack, and he was later placed on a wanted list by the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol).
It is understood that Fauzi fled Brazil following the incident and was later discovered to be living with the mother of his child in Moscow, Russia.
Man who attacked studio over gay Jesus film seeks asylum in Russia
Chernykh told TASS: “The application [for political asylum] has been accepted, it will take three months to consider it. He was told that the response would be given by 23 February.
“Brazil plans to send an extradition request, we have not received it in full and detailed form yet. Meanwhile, we must understand that the treaty between Russia and Brazil stipulates a three-month period for such communication, hence, he was detained on 4 September, so this term expires on 4 December.”
Fauzi was charged with attempted murder in Brazil for his role in the attack, but his lawyer insisted that his actions simply amounted to “an act of hooliganism”.
Chernykh claimed that, as the building was set alight at 4am when there was only one person in the building – a security guard – that he should not have been charged with attempted murder.
“Fauzi is the only one charged with attempted murder, while the others who threw [Molotov cocktail] bottles are just witnesses in the case.
“So, according to investigators, they attempted to kill the guard, but they did not even know he was there… It was a démarche and an act of hooliganism.”
There was uproar in Brazil in December 2019 when its parody film was released on Netflix, with more than two million people signing a petition calling on the streaming platform to remove the film for “seriously offending Christians”.
The creators of the film were called “demons” and “heretics”, and even though the film was not intended to be a documentary, one person’s reason for signing the petition was: “It is a serious offence against Jesus Christ and the Christians! It has no historical evidence to support the insinuations presented.”
Following the attack, the studio wrote on Twitter:
The group wrote on Twitter after the attack: “Porta dos Fundos condemns any act of violence and has made the security camera images available to the authorities and expects those responsible for the attacks to be found and punished.
“But for now, we anticipate that we will move on, more united, stronger, more inspired, and confident that the country will survive this storm of hatred and love will prevail along with freedom of speech.”