Brazil’s Supreme Court has ordered former President Jair Bolsonaro to explain why he spent two nights at the Hungarian embassy, and Brazil’s federal police have begun investigating whether the February stay violated previous court orders, cops said and court officials.
The moves by the Supreme Court and federal police add to the growing legal peril for the former Brazilian leader and follow a New York Times investigation published Monday that showed Bolsonaro was hiding out at the Hungarian embassy in Brasilia days later that the authorities had confiscated his passport because he was under criminal investigation.
The Times report, based on three days of footage from embassy security cameras, showed that the former president appeared to be seeking political asylum from Hungary, whose prime minister is another far-right leader, Viktor Orban.
After the Times article, Bolsonaro confirmed he had stayed at the embassy but declined to say why. “I have a circle of friends with some world leaders,” he told a Brazilian news outlet. “They are worried.” His lawyer then released a statement saying that Bolsonaro’s stay at the embassy was merely to talk politics and that “any other interpretation” was “just another fake news.”
This accounting was not enough for Judge Alexandre de Moraes of Brazil’s Supreme Court, who has overseen a series of investigations into Bolsonaro. On Monday evening, Moraes gave the former president 48 hours to explain his stay in the embassy, according to Mariana Oliveira’s court report.
On February 8, Judge Moraes authorized raids and arrests of several former Bolsonaro aides and ministers on charges of planning a coup after Bolsonaro lost the 2022 elections. As part of that operation, justice ordered Bolsonaro to hand over his passport and not leave the country as the police investigated his involvement.
Brazil’s federal police are now investigating whether Bolsonaro’s stay at the Hungarian embassy violated those orders, according to a federal police official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation.
Some legal analysts in Brazil have said Bolsonaro’s apparent asylum claim could lead to his arrest if authorities believe he is likely to face criminal charges and may try to escape detention in the future.
“Bolsonaro’s move to hide in the embassy is a classic basis for pre-trial detention,” said Augusto de Arruda Botelholawyer and former national secretary of Justice of Brazil.
“It’s one of those situations that is used as an example in textbooks and classrooms,” he added.
Supreme Court justices in Brazil have broad power, and Judge Moraes has previously acted aggressively against Bolsonaro and his allies, saying their actions had threatened the country’s democracy. Many right-wing Brazilians have in turn accused the justice system of abusing his power.
Two left-wing members of Brazil’s Congress said Monday they had filed formal requests with the Supreme Court and the attorney general, seeking Bolsonaro’s pre-trial detention.
Mr Bolsonaro is the subject of various criminal investigations. In one case, federal police last week recommended criminal charges against him on charges of taking part in a conspiracy to falsify his Covid-19 vaccination records. Prosecutors have yet to rule on that case.
There were also consequences for Hungarian diplomats in Brazil. Brazil’s Foreign Ministry said it had summoned Miklos Halmai, the Hungarian ambassador, to explain Bolsonaro’s stay at the embassy.
In a 20-minute meeting with Brazilian officials, Halmai gave the same explanation as Bolsonaro’s lawyer: According to a Foreign Ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity, the former president had only been at the embassy to talk about politics. to describe a private meeting.
The official said that Maria Luisa Escorel, Brazil’s secretary for Europe and North America, had told Mr. Halmai that it was very unusual to host a former president for multiple nights in a city where he also has a home, especially because it is under crime. investigation.
Paolo Motoryn contributed a report from Brasilia, e Leonardo Coelho from Rio de Janeiro.
