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Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will have to testify within ten days in the case of the January 8 riots in Brasilia, as ordered by a judge of the Federal Supreme Court. That day thousands of his supporters sought to remove current President Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva from power, in an attempted coup.
In Brazil, Judge Alexandre de Moraes summoned former President Jair Bolsonaro this Friday, April 14, to testify before the Federal Police within ten days about his responsibility in the riots of January 8.
“Jair Messias Bolsonaro must be heard by the Federal Police within a maximum period of ten days,” says the decision of the Supreme Federal Court judge.
That day, thousands of his followers stormed the headquarters of state powers in the capital, Brasilia, seeking to remove the president, Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva, from power — who had been leading the Latin American country for just over a week. A fact for which 2,151 people were arrested, of which 294 remain in prison.
Bolsonaro was in the United States when the attempted coup took place. However, the High Court assured that his version is decisive to clarify what happened that day.
The multiple investigations against the former president
After the elections and his defeat in October against ‘Lula’, Jair Bolsonaro left Brazil on December 30, even before the end of his term, boycotting the leftist’s inauguration ceremony on January 1.
‘Lula’ won the October elections by a narrow margin: 50.9% of the votes compared to 49.1% for the former president.
After a three-month stay in the United States, the far-right leader returned to Brazil to face the country’s justice system. Since his arrival, he has been the subject of a long series of investigations, and is exposed to legal proceedings with possible disqualification and imprisonment.
Recently, the far-right leader had to testify before the Federal Police, to account for some jewelry that he received as a gift from the Saudi authorities and that he did not deliver at the end of his term, as stipulated by Brazilian law.
In addition, the former president had two other sets of undeclared gifts, valued at $100,000 and $75,000.
What happened on January 8?
On January 8, thousands of people who refused to accept the defeat of the far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro stormed the Presidential Palace, Congress and the Supreme Court, a week after the leftist leader’s inauguration.
The assailants easily broke through the security cordon to loot everything in their path, including priceless works of art.
The violence in Brasilia was reminiscent of the invasion of the Capitol two years earlier in the United States by supporters of Donald Trump, who refused to accept their defeat before the current US president, Joe Biden.
with AFP
This article was adapted from its original in French.
