Latest news with #AlexandreDeMoraes
Reuters
5 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Lula vows to defend Brazil's Supreme Court as US threatens judge
SAO PAULO, June 3 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva vowed on Tuesday to defend his country's Supreme Court against attacks from the United States, in a sharp rebuke of potential sanctions from Washington against one of the top court's justices. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told U.S. lawmakers last month that President Donald Trump could slap economic sanctions on the judge overseeing the trial of Brazil's ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally accused of plotting a coup. "It is unacceptable for the president of any country in the world to comment on the decision of the Supreme Court of another country," Lula told reporters, adding that the United States needs to understand the importance of "respecting the integrity of institutions in other countries." Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has drawn fierce criticism from the Brazilian right while leading the court's aggressive curbing of what he has called threats to Brazil's democracy, both online and in an alleged coup plot. He started by ordering social media companies to take down posts from Bolsonaro supporters that he considered threats to democratic institutions, even suspending Elon Musk's social media platform X in Brazil until it caved to his orders. Musk and other right-wing platforms have accused Moraes of censorship. The judge also ordered the arrest of a conservative lawmaker who posted a video attacking the Supreme Court and oversaw a case against Bolsonaro supporters who vandalized government buildings after the former president lost the election. Moraes is now overseeing a case in which Bolsonaro is accused of leading an attempt to overthrow Brazil's democracy to reverse his loss in the 2022 presidential elections. He presided over the electoral court decision barring Bolsonaro from running for public office until 2030 due to behavior in that campaign. Several of those cases have involved criticism, threats and even an alleged assassination attempt targeting Moraes himself, but the Supreme Court has backed the judge's refusal to recuse himself, drawing further complaints from his critics. The setbacks for Bolsonaro's far-right movement led his son, lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, to take a leave from Brazil's Congress this year and move to the United States, where he vowed to lead a campaign against Moraes. Rubio's comments in Congress about Moraes were prompted by questions by Florida House Representative Cory Mills, with whom Eduardo Bolsonaro said he had met days earlier. Mills asked Rubio if he was considering sanctions against Moraes under the Global Magnitsky Act, which allows the U.S. president to impose economic sanctions against foreigners with a record of corruption or human rights abuses. "There is a great possibility that will happen," Rubio said. Eduardo Bolsonaro's role in advocating retribution against Moraes prompted the judge to open an investigation against the lawmaker, after prosecutors alleged judicial interference. Lula, in remarks to reporters on Tuesday, compared Eduardo Bolsonaro's efforts to "terrorist practices," adding that the lawmaker had left Congress to "try to lick Trump's boots."
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
US will refuse visas to foreign officials who block Americans' social media posts
The United States has said it will refuse visas to foreign officials who block Americans' social media posts, as Donald Trump's administration wages a new battle over free expression. Marco Rubio – the secretary of state who has controversially rescinded visas for activists who criticize Israel and ramped up screening of foreign students' social media – said on Wednesday he was acting against 'flagrant censorship actions' overseas against US tech firms. He did not publicly name any official who would be denied a visa under the new policy. But last week he suggested to lawmakers that he was planning sanctions against a Brazilian supreme court judge, Alexandre de Moraes, who has battled X owner and Trump ally Elon Musk over alleged disinformation. The administration of Trump – himself a prolific and often confrontational social media user – has also sharply criticized Germany and Britain for restricting what the US allies' governments term hate and abusive speech. Rubio said the United States will begin to restrict visas to foreign nationals who are responsible for 'censorship of protected expression in the United States'. 'It is unacceptable for foreign officials to issue or threaten arrest warrants on US citizens or US residents for social media posts on American platforms while physically present on US soil,' Rubio said in a statement. 'It is similarly unacceptable for foreign officials to demand that American tech platforms adopt global content moderation policies or engage in censorship activity that reaches beyond their authority and into the United States,' he said. 'We will not tolerate encroachments upon American sovereignty, especially when such encroachments undermine the exercise of our fundamental right to free speech.' Rubio has said he has revoked the US visas for thousands of people, largely students who have protested against Israel's offensive in Gaza. Among the most visible cases has been Rümeysa Öztürk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University who had written an opinion piece in a student newspaper criticizing the school's position on Gaza. Masked agents arrested her on a Massachusetts street and took her away. A judge recently ordered her release. Rubio on Tuesday suspended further appointments for students seeking visas to the United States until the state department drafts new guidelines on enhanced screening of applicants' social media postings. Social media regulation has become a rallying cry for many in the US on the right since Trump was suspended from Twitter, now X, and Facebook, on safety grounds after his supporters attacked the US Capitol following his defeat in the 2020 election to Joe Biden. In Brazil, where supporters of Trump ally Jair Bolsonaro similarly stormed the presidential palace, Congress and the supreme court in 2023 after Bolsonaro's election loss, Moraes has said he is seeking to protect democracy through his judicial power. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion Moraes temporarily blocked X across Brazil until it complied with his order to remove accounts accused of spreading disinformation. More recently he ordered a suspension of Rumble, a video-sharing platform popular with conservative and far-right voices over its refusal to block the account of a user based in the United States who was wanted for spreading disinformation. Germany – whose foreign minister met Wednesday with Rubio – restricts online hate speech and misinformation, saying it has learned a lesson from its Nazi past and will ostracize extremists. JD Vance in a speech in Munich in February denounced Germany for shunning the far-right. In an essay Tuesday, a state department official pointed to social media regulations and said Europeans were following a 'similar strategy of censorship, demonization and bureaucratic weaponization' as witnessed against Trump and his supporters. 'What this reveals is that the global liberal project is not enabling the flourishing of democracy,' wrote Samuel Samson, a senior advisor for the state department's human rights office. 'Rather, it is trampling democracy, and Western heritage along with it, in the name of a decadent governing class afraid of its own people.'
CNA
6 days ago
- Politics
- CNA
Rubio says US to refuse visas to officials over online 'censorship'
WASHINGTON: The United States will refuse visas to foreign officials who block Americans' social media posts, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday (May 28) in his latest crackdown. Rubio - who himself has come under fire for removing US visas from activists who criticise Israel - said he was acting against "flagrant censorship actions" overseas against US tech firms. He did not publicly name any official who would lose a visa under the new policy. But last week, he suggested to lawmakers that he was planning action against Brazilian Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes, who has battled X owner Elon Musk to remove alleged disinformation. The administration of President Donald Trump - himself a prolific and often confrontational social media user - has also sharply criticised allies Germany and Britain for restricting what the governments term hate speech. Rubio said that the United States will begin to restrict visas to foreign nationals who are responsible for censorship of protected expression in the United States." "It is unacceptable for foreign officials to issue or threaten arrest warrants on US citizens or US residents for social media posts on American platforms while physically present on US soil," Rubio said in a statement. "It is similarly unacceptable for foreign officials to demand that American tech platforms adopt global content moderation policies or engage in censorship activity that reaches beyond their authority and into the United States," he said. "We will not tolerate encroachments upon American sovereignty, especially when such encroachments undermine the exercise of our fundamental right to free speech." Rubio has said that he has revoked the US visas for thousands of people, largely students who have protested against Israel's offensive in Gaza. Among the most visible cases has been Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University who had written an opinion piece in a student newspaper criticising the school's position on Gaza.
News24
6 days ago
- Politics
- News24
Rubio says US to refuse visas to officials over online 'censorship'
The US will deny visas to foreign officials who censor Americans' social media posts. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hinted at targeting Brazil's Judge Alexandre de Moraes over his clash with Elon Musk. Rubio had already revoked visas of pro-Palestinian activists, saying the policy defended US sovereignty and free speech. The United States will refuse visas to foreign officials who block Americans' social media posts, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday in his latest crackdown. Rubio - who himself has come under fire for removing US visas from activists who criticise Israel - said he was acting against 'flagrant censorship actions' overseas against US tech firms. He did not publicly name any official who would lose a visa under the new policy. But last week he suggested to lawmakers that he was planning action against Brazilian Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes, who has battled X owner Elon Musk to remove alleged disinformation. The administration of President Donald Trump - himself a prolific and often confrontational social media user - has also sharply criticised allies Germany and Britain for restricting what the governments term hate speech. Rubio said that the United States will begin to restrict visas to foreign nationals who are responsible for censorship of protected expression in the United States.' Rubio said in a statement: It is unacceptable for foreign officials to issue or threaten arrest warrants on US citizens or US residents for social media posts on American platforms while physically present on US soil. 'It is similarly unacceptable for foreign officials to demand that American tech platforms adopt global content moderation policies or engage in censorship activity that reaches beyond their authority and into the United States,' he said. 'We will not tolerate encroachments upon American sovereignty, especially when such encroachments undermine the exercise of our fundamental right to free speech.' Rubio has said that he has revoked the US visas for thousands of people, largely students who have protested against Israel's offensive in Gaza. Among the most visible cases has been Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University who had written an opinion piece in a student newspaper criticising the school's position on Gaza. Masked agents arrested her on a Massachusetts street and took her away. A judge recently ordered her release.
South China Morning Post
6 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
US to scrutinise visas for officials, targeting those ‘responsible for censorship'
The United States will refuse visas to foreign officials who block Americans' social media posts, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday in his latest crackdown. Rubio – who himself has come under fire for removing US visas from activists who criticise Israel – said he was acting against 'flagrant censorship actions' overseas against US tech firms. He did not publicly name any official who would lose a visa under the new policy. But last week he suggested to lawmakers that he was planning action against Brazilian Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes, who has battled X owner Elon Musk to remove alleged disinformation. The administration of President Donald Trump – himself a prolific and often confrontational social media user – has also sharply criticised allies Germany and Britain for restricting what the governments term hate speech. 04:21 Citing China 'activity', Trump administration bars Harvard from enrolling foreign students Citing China 'activity', Trump administration bars Harvard from enrolling foreign students Rubio said that the United States will begin to restrict visas to foreign nationals who are 'responsible for censorship of protected expression in the United States'.
