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Ex-President Jair Bolsonaro: According to reports, he will have to hand over his cell phone and passport
Photo: Sergio Lima / AFP
The Brazilian Federal Police undertook a large-scale operation in the context of the storming of the National Congress in January 2023 by supporters of ex-President Jair Bolsonaro. In raids in several states, 33 search warrants and four arrest warrants as well as preventive measures such as the confiscation of passports were to be executed, the Polícia Federal said. According to media reports, the target was also Bolsonaro himself, who ruled Brazil as president from 2019 to the end of 2022. Close political allies from back then are also being targeted by investigators, the G1 portal and other media reported.
The investigation was directed against a criminal organization that sought a coup and the abolition of the democratic constitutional state, the Polícia Federal statement said. According to Brazilian media reports, the suspects also include four generals, including former Defense Minister Walter Braga Netto. No names were given by the police. According to media reports, the police visited Bolsonaro in Angra dos Reis in the state of Rio de Janeiro in the morning and confiscated his cell phone. The ex-president also had to hand in his passport within 24 hours, the media said. His lawyer Fabio Wajngarten confirmed this on X, formerly Twitter, that Bolsonaro would comply with a request from the authorities.
The right-wing Bolsonaro was defeated by the left-wing politician Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the runoff election for the presidency in October 2022. On January 8, 2023, supporters of the ex-military who did not want to recognize Lula's election victory stormed Congress, the seat of government and the Supreme Court in Brasília and caused considerable damage. The Supreme Court is investigating Bolsonaro on suspicion of inciting the unrest. In June 2023, Bolsonaro was banned from all political office for eight years by the Supreme Electoral Court because of his unsubstantiated allegations of electoral fraud.
czl/dpa/AFP