Latest news with #FirstMile
The Sun
19 hours ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Brazil police seek spying charges against Bolsonaro
SAO PAULO: Brazil's police on Tuesday called for far-right ex-leader Jair Bolsonaro, on trial for alleged coup-plotting, to be separately charged with illegal espionage while president, Bolsonaro's son and local media reported. Bolsonaro risks around 40 years in prison if convicted of plotting to cling to power despite losing October 2022 elections to left-winger Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. In a separate development his son Flavio said Tuesday that the police were seeking to charge him over suspicions that hundreds of public figures were illegally spied on during his 2019-2022 presidency. The federal police in a statement confirmed that it had wrapped up its investigation 'into the existence of a criminal organization that illegally spied on public authorities and produced disinformation.' Brazilian media reported that the police had recommended that a total of 35 people be charged in the case, including Jair Bolsonaro and another of his sons, Carlos Bolsonaro, a Rio city councillor. The police say that the alleged spying network operated as a 'parallel structure' within Brazil's main spy agency Abin. The suspects also include Abin's director under Bolsonaro, Congressman Alexandre Ramagem. Ramagem is also among Bolsonaro's co-accused in the coup trial. Investigators suspect some of Abin's agents of using the Israeli spyware FirstMile to eavesdrop on politicians from various parties, as well as on Supreme Court judges and journalists. Writing on X, Flavio Bolsonaro, who is a senator, slammed the investigation, claiming that his father was never questioned over the allegations. Bolsonaro, 70, has rejected any wrongdoing, claiming the various cases against him amount to politically-motivated judicial hounding, aimed at preventing him making a comeback in 2026 elections. The former army captain dreams of emulating Donald Trump's return to the White House, despite being banned from holding public office until 2030 over his attacks on Brazil's electronic voting system.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Brazil's Bolsonaro accused in spy agency case as coup trial is ongoing
Brazil's federal police have formally accused far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro of involvement in an illegal spying network that allegedly snooped on political rivals, journalists and environmentalists during his administration. Court records allege that under one of Bolsonaro's aides, Brazil's spy agency, Agencia Brasileira de Inteligencia (ABIN), ran a 'criminal organisation of high offensive capability' from 2019 to 2023, local media reported Tuesday. According to the police, ABIN used a software called FirstMile, developed by the Israeli company Cognyte. A Supreme Court document contains the names of several Brazilian public figures who were targets of the snooping operation, including Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, former Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria, and the current head of Brazil's Chamber of Deputies or lower house, Arthur Lira. The agency was also used to illegally spy on tax auditors who were investigating the president's eldest son, Flavio Bolsonaro, according to prosecutors. The intention was to find dirt on them to halt a corruption probe from when the younger Bolsonaro was a Rio de Janeiro councilman. Names of senior officials from the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) were also on the list. As president, Bolsonaro cut the budget of IBAMA by 30 percent between 2019 and 2020, while also cutting funding for other environmental agencies. When he was in office, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon surged, and Bolsonaro was accused of facilitating this destruction. Journalists Monica Bergamo of Folha de S Paulo newspaper and Vera Magalhaes of O Globo newspaper were also targeted, the document alleges. The allegations add to a slew of probes against Bolsonaro, who was rendered ineligible to run for office in 2030 after a failed 2022 re-election campaign. He is also embroiled in a jewellery embezzlement case as well as a case pertaining to him forging his COVID-19 vaccine records. Last week, Bolsonaro appeared before the Supreme Court for the first time and denied participation in an alleged plot to remain in power and overturn the 2022 election result that he lost to current left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The Supreme Court headquarters in Brasilia was one of the primary targets of a rioting mob of supporters known as 'Bolsonaristas', who raided government buildings in January 2023 as they urged the military to oust Lula, an insurrection attempt that evoked the supporters of Bolsonaro ally United States President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021. Bolsonaro was abroad in Florida in the US at the time of this last-gasp effort to keep him in power after the alleged coup planning fizzled. But his opponents have accused him of fomenting the rioting. Bolsonaro said in his testimony that the rioters were 'crazy,' not coup mongers. 'There was never any talk of a coup. A coup is an abominable thing,' Bolsonaro said. 'Brazil couldn't go through an experience like that. And there was never even the possibility of a coup in my government.' The far-right politician admitted to discussing 'possibilities' with the heads of the armed forces following his defeat to Lula, but argued that it had been within constitutional limits. A coup conviction carries a sentence of up to 12 years in Brazil. A conviction on that and other charges could bring decades behind bars. The former president has repeatedly denied the allegations and asserted that he is the target of political persecution.
