The search of the ex-president’s condominium came about as a part of a probe into the forging of Covid-19 vaccination information
Brazilian police raided the house of former President Jair Bolsonaro within the capital, Brasilia on Wednesday and seized his cellphone. The operation was a part of greater than a dozen searches linked to an investigation into the falsification of coronavirus vaccination certificates in his administration. The proper-wing politician denied any wrongdoing as he talked to journalists afterwards.
Police stated they went by 16 properties in Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro, making six arrests of suspected members of a “legal community” believed to have “inserted false Covid-19 vaccination info into public well being techniques.” In accordance with the media, these detained embrace Bolsonaro’s closest aides and safety guards.
The investigators imagine the information, which have been solid on the top of the pandemic – between November 2021 and December 2022 – have been utilized by the Covid vaccine-skeptic president and different Brazilian officers to make not less than 4 journeys to the US, together with a UN Basic Meeting assembly in New York.
Bolsonaro was not particularly talked about within the assertion by the police, however Brazilian broadcaster Globo has printed footage displaying the officers inside his condominium complicated.
Earlier on Wednesday, Brazil’s Supreme Courtroom issued paperwork wherein the previous president was named as a suspect within the case. The connection between him and a possible crime is “believable, logical and sturdy,” the information learn.
Speaking to reporters after the search, Bolsonaro stated he was shocked by what had occurred and confirmed that the officers had taken his cellphone.
He denied all allegations in opposition to him, saying: “I didn’t get the vaccine. I used to be by no means requested for a vaccination card [to enter the US]. There isn’t a fraud on my half. I didn’t take the vaccine, interval.”
Throughout his presidency, Bolsonaro pledged that he would by no means obtain the Covid-19 jab. Nonetheless, the media reported in February that he was listed as ‘vaccinated’ within the well being information.
Bolsonaro, who misplaced the presidential election to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva final yr, skipped his left-wing rival’s inauguration, leaving for the US in late December. He stayed in Florida for 3 months and returned to his residence nation in March.
The previous president faces a number of different investigations linked to his claims of election rigging, suspected embezzlement of overseas items, and the alleged instigation of his supporters to overrun authorities buildings in Brasilia this January, amongst different issues.
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