Sao Paulo, July 18: Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro has been ordered to wear an ankle monitor, a move he described as “a supreme humiliation”. The move came as federal police conducted searches at his home and party headquarters in Brasília, in compliance with a Supreme Court order. The order prohibits Bolsonaro from leaving the house at night, communicating with foreign ambassadors and diplomats, or approaching embassies. He is also barred from using social media or contacting other individuals under investigation by the Supreme Court, including his son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, a Brazilian lawmaker known for his close ties to US President Donald Trump.
Bolsonaro is currently on trial at the Supreme Court accused of leading an alleged attempt to stage a coup to overturn the 2022 election. Trump wrote to Bolsonaro describing his ally’s treatment by the Brazilian legal system as terrible and unjust, calling the trial “should end immediately!” The Supreme Court’s restrictions are part of a second investigation against Eduardo for allegedly working with US authorities to impose sanctions against Brazilian officials.
Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet said in a report to the Supreme Court that the evidence is clear: the defendant acted systematically to incite insurrection and the destabilization of the democratic rule of law. Bolsonaro has described the trial on X as a “witch hunt,” echoing a term used by Trump when he came to his South American ally’s defense last week. (AP)
