logo
What to know about trial of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro

What to know about trial of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro

News1820-07-2025
Rio de Janeiro, Jul 20 (AP) Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro will wear an electronic ankle monitor on orders from the Supreme Court, where he is on trial for allegedly masterminding a coup plot to remain in office despite his defeat in the 2022 election.
The case received renewed attention after President Donald Trump directly tied a 50% tariff on Brazilian imported goods to Bolsonaro's judicial situation, which Trump called a ' witch hunt." The Supreme Court's order for Bolsonaro to wear an ankle monitor, among other restrictions, came after Federal Police and prosecutors said Bolsonaro is a flight risk. Authorities, listing multiple social media posts, also accused Bolsonaro of working with his son Eduardo to incite the United States to interfere in the trial and impose sanctions against Brazilian officials.
On Friday, the US State Department announced visa restrictions on Brazilian judicial officials, prompting President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to condemn what he called the unacceptable interference of one country in another's justice system.
Here's what you need to know about Bolsonaro's trial: The charges against Bolsonaro The prosecution accuses Bolsonaro of leading an armed criminal organization, attempting to stage a coup and attempting the violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, aggravated damage, and deterioration of listed heritage sites.
A federal police investigation placed Bolsonaro at the top of a criminal organization that had been active since at least 2021. Police say that after Bolsonaro's loss to Lula, the organization conspired to overturn the election result.
Part of that plot included a plan to kill Lula and a Supreme Court justice, the prosecution alleges. It also says that the Jan 8 riot when Bolsonaro supporters ransacked top government buildings a week after Lula took office was an attempt to force military intervention and oust the new president.
Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet says Bolsonaro's actions 'were not limited to a passive stance of resistance to defeat, but were a conscious effort to create an environment conducive to violence and a coup." In the court order unsealed Friday, Justice Alexandre de Moraes said Bolsonaro and his son may also have committed the crimes of coercion during a legal proceeding, obstruction of an investigation involving a criminal organization and attack on Brazil's sovereignty.
What Bolsonaro says Bolsonaro has repeatedly denied the allegations and asserted that he's the target of political persecution. He has echoed Trump and called the trial a 'witch hunt." The far-right former leader has now been barred from using social media, but on Thursday, he said on X that 'those who challenge the system are being punished, silenced, and isolated." Regarding the restrictive measures carried out on Friday, Bolsonaro called them a 'supreme humiliation." 'I never thought about leaving Brazil, I never thought about going to an embassy, but the precautionary measures are because of that," he told journalists in Brasilia.
Next steps After the prosecution called for a guilty verdict in its final allegations issued Tuesday, the defence will soon present its case, likely in the coming weeks.
The panel of Supreme Court justices that opened the trial against Bolsonaro will vote on whether to convict or acquit him. Experts say a decision is expected before the end of the year.
A guilty verdict on the coup plot charge carries a sentence of up to 12 years, which could, along with guilty verdicts on other charges, bring decades behind bars.
But Antonio Jose Teixeira Martins, a law professor at Rio de Janeiro State University, said Bolsonaro could be detained even before there's a verdict.
'Whether this happens or not depends on how events unfold from now on, that is if these new measures prove sufficient to guarantee public order, the application of criminal law and prevent the risk of escape," Teixeira Martins said.
Brazil's top electoral court has already banned Bolsonaro from running in elections until 2030 over abuse of power while in office and casting unfounded doubts on the country's electronic voting system. (AP) NSA NSA
view comments
Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Supreme Court Told Bihar Voter Roll Revision a 'Grave Fraud on Voters'
Supreme Court Told Bihar Voter Roll Revision a 'Grave Fraud on Voters'

Time of India

timean hour ago

  • Time of India

Supreme Court Told Bihar Voter Roll Revision a 'Grave Fraud on Voters'

The Supreme Court on Saturday heard serious allegations against the Election Commission's special intensive revision (SIR) of Bihar's electoral rolls. Petitioners, including the Association for Democratic Reforms and the RJD, claimed the process was marred by irregularities — with BLOs allegedly forging voter signatures, dead individuals shown as having submitted forms, and genuine voters excluded without notice. The petitioners argued that the EC's numbers were unreliable as forms were collected without proper documentation, putting lakhs at risk of disenfranchisement just ahead of the state elections. They also questioned why the EC rejected Aadhaar and ration cards as valid proof.#supremecourt #electioncommission #biharelections #voterfraud #electoralrolls #rjd #adr #voterlist #disenfranchisement #biharnews #manojjha #ashoklavasa #form6 #voteridentity #bloirregularities Read More

Bihar electoral roll revision: As enumeration deadline passes, EC to deploy volunteers to help voters get govt documents
Bihar electoral roll revision: As enumeration deadline passes, EC to deploy volunteers to help voters get govt documents

Indian Express

timean hour ago

  • Indian Express

Bihar electoral roll revision: As enumeration deadline passes, EC to deploy volunteers to help voters get govt documents

Volunteers will be deployed to help electors get the documents required from government departments to meet the submission deadline of September 1 as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, the Election Commission said on Sunday. The EC's statement comes a day before the Supreme Court is set to hear a clutch of petitions challenging the SIR with opposition parties and civil society groups raising concerns over the potential disenfranchisement of existing electors. The court heard the matter first on July 10. According to the EC, the first phase of the drive, which started on June 25, came to an end on July 26 with the enumeration forms of 7.23 crore out of 7.89 crore registered electors of the state having been received within the deadline. Around 65 lakh names would be removed from the rolls as the electors were found to have either died or migrated permanently or registered in more than one place or untraceable, the EC said. In Sunday's statement, the EC said 16 lakh forms had been filed online and over 13 lakh had been downloaded from its website and app. According to the EC's June 24 order, all electors of Bihar had to submit enumeration forms by July 25 to make it to the draft roll to be published on August 1. From August 1 to September 1, the electors would have to submit documents, from a list of 11 specified by the EC in its order, to establish their eligibility. These documents would then be scrutinised and the final roll published on September 30, as per the schedule. For those on the 2003 electoral roll, when the last intensive revision was done, the EC order says the extract of the roll would do. The 11 documents include caste certificate, matriculation/ educational certificate, passport and birth certificate, but not the widely held Aadhaar, Voter ID and ration card. 'Entire election machinery and volunteers are making special efforts to assist any elector, especially senior citizens, PwD [persons with disabilities] electors, and other vulnerable groups, in obtaining their documents. Volunteers will connect with all electors so that their documents can be obtained from government departments with minimum efforts of the elector,' the EC said. It added that once the draft roll is published on August 1, any elector and political party would have the opportunity till September 1 to file claims and objections to include any eligible elector who has been left out and remove any ineligible elector on the rolls. The EC said that no name can be deleted from the draft roll without notice to the elector and the relevant order passed by the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) or Assistant ERO. 'Any elector aggrieved by any decision of the ERO may appeal to the District Magistrate and the Chief Electoral Officer thereafter under Section 24 of the RP Act, 1950. Volunteers are also being trained in helping people to file appeals against any decision of ERO. A standard format for filing appeals is also being devised and will be widely circulated to allow people to file appeals easily,' the EC said. The EC said 22 lakh electors were found to be deceased, 36 lakh had permanently shifted or were not found by the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and 7 lakh were enrolled in multiple places. 'Exact status of these electors will be known after scrutiny of these forms by ERO/AERO by August 1, 2025. However, genuine electors can still be added back in electoral rolls during the claims and objection period from 1st August to 1st September 2025. The name of the electors found enrolled at multiple places in electoral rolls will be retained only at one place,' the EC said. The EC had announced its decision to hold a special intensive revision for the whole country on June 24, but started with Bihar as Assembly elections are due in the state by November. Meanwhile, in its counter affidavit in the Supreme Court, the EC has defended its authority to verify the constitutional requirement of citizenship for those wanting to be enrolled as electors. The petitioners, including Association for Democratic Reforms, Yogendra Yadav, Arshad Ajmal and Rupesh Kumar, have submitted their responses to the EC affidavit. Social activists Ajmal and Kumar have argued in their response that the SIR order is violative of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. They contend that the SIR order prescribes a new declaration form and 11 documents, which are not a part of the rules. As per the rules, Form 6 is the prescribed form for new electors. 'It is submitted that the entire mechanism for the preparation, revision, and correction of electoral rolls must be traced to a valid statutory rule notified under Section 28 of the RP Act. Any material deviation from the procedure prescribed under the Rules constitutes executive overreach and is ultra vires the parent Act…It is therefore submitted that the introduction of a Declaration Form with rigid documentary preconditions via administrative fiat is ultra vires the RP Act, 1950 and 1960 Rules. The scheme for electoral inclusion is a matter statutorily encoded. The ECI cannot modify it unilaterally,' they said. They argued that the Act empowers the Central government to make rules and the EC's SIR order was 'a direct and unlawful usurpation of rule-making power vested exclusively in the Central Government under Section 28 of the RP Act.'

'You will be harmed': Israel's defence minister warns Khamenei; asks him not to threaten Israel
'You will be harmed': Israel's defence minister warns Khamenei; asks him not to threaten Israel

Time of India

time2 hours ago

  • Time of India

'You will be harmed': Israel's defence minister warns Khamenei; asks him not to threaten Israel

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a televised speech (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP) Israel's defence minister, Israel Katz, issued a direct and severe warning to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday, threatening "personal harm" if Khamenei continued to threaten the Jewish state. Speaking at the Ramon Air Base, Katz declared, 'I want to send a clear message to the dictator Khamenei: If you continue to threaten Israel, our long arm will once again reach Iran, with even greater force, and this time, it will reach you personally.'' "Do not threaten us, or you will be harmed," he added. The minister, alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, praised the Israeli Air Force for its role in Operation Rising Lion, a military campaign launched on June 13 targeting Iran's nuclear and military infrastructure. "Thank you for the incredible work you did in Operation Rising Lion, when you opened the skies to Tehran, and removed threats of annihilation," he stated. Iran responded with Operation True Promise 3, sparking a 12-day war that ended on June 25, brokered by US President Donald Trump. During the conflict, Trump claimed the US knew Khamenei's whereabouts and even vetoed an Israeli plan to assassinate the Iranian leader. In the aftermath, Katz confirmed that Khamenei had been 'marked' for assassination by Israel but managed to avoid being targeted by going underground.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store