US State Secretary Marco Rubio has accused Brazilian Judge Alexandre de Moraes of persecution and conducting a witch-hunt after Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced up to 27 years and three months in prison for attempting to overthrow democracy with a coup. However, the decision to imprison Bolsonaro was taken collectively by five Judges with Judge Alexandre de Moraes serving as the case’s rapporteur and Judge Cristiano Zanin presiding over the panel.
Jair Bolsonaro was not present to the Court sitting during the Court hearing as he is currently under house arrest. Bolnaro was Brazil’s President from 2019 to 2023 until he lost his elections to Lula da Silva but instead of accepting the results, Bolsonaro tried to storm parliament with his supporters as he falsely declared that he had won the elections.
The US State Department has previously targeted Judge Alexandre de Moares with the Magnitsky Act but the original proponent of the Magnitsky Act said that Act was not intended for this purpose. The Act was originally passed to sanction government official who conduct serious human rights abuses with the act first targeting Russian government officials who wrongfully imprisoned the whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky.
The Brazilian Chief Justice is Luís Roberto Barroso not Judge Alexandre de Moraes. Jair Bolsonaro intends to appeal to the full Supreme Court.
The full sentencing document of Jair Bolsonaro is yet to be uploaded online by the Brazilian Supreme Court.
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