Latest news with #politicalPersecution
Al Jazeera
5 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Former Peruvian president imprisoned over corruption allegations
A judge in the South American nation of Peru has ordered the country's ex-president, Martin Vizcarra, to be held in pre-trial detention over bribery allegations. In a hearing on Wednesday, Judge Jorge Chavez ordered Vizcarra jailed for five months, saying he is a flight risk. He stands accused of accepting bribes during his tenure as governor of the Moquegua region 11 years ago. Vizcarra is the fifth ex-president to be detained in Peru, which has been rocked by numerous scandals and political crises over the last several years. Peru has had six presidents since 2018. For his part, Vizcarra has denied the charges against him, stating that they are a form of political persecution. He had planned to run for president again in 2026. A judge had turned down a previous request to detain him in June, but the public ministry insisted that he was a flight risk and appealed the decision. His lawyers have said that he will seek to appeal his detention. Three other ex-presidents, Alejandro Toledo, Ollanta Humala and Pedro Castillo, are currently being held in a special facility built for former leaders of the country in a police base in the capital of Lima. Vizcarra, who was investigated and removed from office by Congress in 2020, will likely join them there. Critics have accused Peru's Congress of launching scurrilous impeachment efforts against political rivals, using vague charges such as 'moral incapacity'. The facility first housed former President Alberto Fujimori, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2009 for human rights abuses committed during his period of dictatorial rule. He was controversially pardoned in 2023, in defiance of an order from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and died of cancer the following year. President Dina Boluarte, who came into office after former President Castillo was imprisoned after trying to dissolve Congress, signed a law earlier today offering amnesty to government security officials and aligned groups who committed rights abuses during the decades-long campaign against the Shining Path armed group. Rights groups condemned the amnesty bill as a form of impunity for serious abuses.
Bloomberg
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Brazil Asks US Embassy to Explain Pro-Bolsonaro Statement
Brazil's foreign ministry has asked the highest representative of the US government in Brasilia to explain an embassy statement echoing President Donald Trump's claims that former leader Jair Bolsonaro is facing political persecution, according to two people familiar with the situation. The embassy on Wednesday released a statement claiming that Bolsonaro, who faces a looming trial on charges that he attempted a coup following his 2022 election defeat, has been subject to political persecution that is 'shameful and disrespectful of Brazil's democratic traditions.'
CNN
30-06-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Brazil ex-leader Bolsonaro rallies thousands of supporters to protest his trial over alleged plot to overturn election
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday attended a public demonstration in Sao Paulo to protest against his ongoing Supreme Court trial in the South American country. A couple of thousand people gathered on Paulista Avenue, one of the city's main locations, in a demonstration that Bolsonaro, before the event, called 'an act for freedom, for justice.' Bolsonaro and 33 allies are facing trial over an alleged plot to overturn the 2022 presidential election results and remain in power. They were charged with five counts related to the plan. The former president has denied the allegations and claims that he's the target of political persecution. He could face up to 12 years in prison if convicted. 'Bolsonaro, come back!' protesters chanted, but the former president is barred from running for office until 2030. Brazil's Superior Electoral Court ruled last year that he abused his political power and made baseless claims about the country's electronic voting system.
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Brazil ex-leader Jair Bolsonaro rallies supporters in Sao Paulo to protest his Supreme Court trial
SAO PAULO (AP) — Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday attended a public demonstration in Sao Paulo to protest against his ongoing Supreme Court trial in the South American country. A couple of thousand people gathered on Paulista Avenue, one of the city's main locations, in a demonstration that Bolsonaro, before the event, called 'an act for freedom, for justice.' Bolsonaro and 33 allies are facing trial over an alleged plot to overturn the 2022 presidential election results and remain in power. They were charged with five counts related to the plan. The former president has denied the allegations and claims that he's the target of political persecution. He could face up to 12 years in prison if convicted. 'Bolsonaro, come back!' protesters chanted, but the former president is barred from running for office until 2030. Brazil's Superior Electoral Court ruled last year that he abused his political power and made baseless claims about the country's electronic voting system.
The Independent
21-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
AOC blasts Trump's ‘illegal' persecution of Mahmoud Khalil as she welcomes Columbia student back to NYC
Standing beside a recently released Mahmoud Khalil, Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez condemned Donald Trump's administration for the 'illegal' persecution of the Columbia University student, who was imprisoned for more than three months in an immigration detention center for his pro-Palestinian activism. The New York congresswoman joined Khalil and his family at Newark Liberty International Airport Saturday for a press conference moments after his return. 'Because Mahmoud Khalil is an advocate for Palestinian human rights, he has been accused, baselessly, of horrific allegations simply because the Trump administration and our overall establishment disagrees with his political speech,' she said. Khalil was stripped of his green card and arrested in front of his then-pregnant wife in their New York City apartment building on March 8. He was then sent to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Louisiana, where he was kept for months and forced to miss the birth of his child. On Friday, a federal judge granted his release from ICE detention on bail while legal challenges against his arrest and threat of removal from the country continue in both federal and immigration courts. 'It is wrong, it is illegal, it is a violation of his First Amendment rights, it is an affront to every American and ... we will continue to resist the politicization and the continued political persecution that ICE is engaged in,' Ocasio-Cortez said. 'Everyone agrees that the persecution based on political speech is wrong and is a violation of all of our First Amendment rights, not just Mahmoud's,' she added. Khalil, who is Palestinian, grew up in a refugee camp in Syria. He entered the United States on a student visa in 2022 to pursue a master's degree in public administration and emerged as a face of Columbia demonstrations against Israel's war in Gaza. Trump administration officials have accused Khalil of 'antisemitic activities,' allegations Khalil and his legal team have flatly denied. 'The U.S. government is funding this genocide, and Columbia University is investing in this genocide,' he told reporters at Newark. 'This is what I was protesting, this is what I will continue to protest with every one of you, not only if they threaten me with detention, even if they kill me, I will still speak up for Palestine.' Speaking out for Palestinian rights is 'speech that should actually be celebrated rather than punished, as if this administration wants to do,' Khalil said. Officials concede that Khalil did not commit any crime, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio has sought to justify Khalil's arrest by invoking a rarely used law claiming that Khalil's presence in the United States undermines foreign policy interests to prevent antisemitism. A judge's order for his release is the latest in a string of high-profile legal losses for the Trump administration following the arrests of international scholars for their pro-Palestinian activism. Their arrests sparked widespread outrage against the administration's apparent attempts to crush campus dissent, while Rubio has said he 'proudly' revoked hundreds of student visas over campus activism. The Trump administration 'knows they are waging a losing legal battle' against pro-Palestine students, and are 'violating the law' to build a campaign against them, Ocasio-Cortez said. Lawyers for the Trump administration appealed the order for his release on Friday night. A spokesperson for Homeland Security called the order 'yet another example of how out-of-control members of the judicial branch are undermining national security.'
