Brazil Supreme Court Denies Jair Bolsonaro's Request To Travel to Israel
It looks like former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is not going to Israel after all, as the Brazilian Supreme Court denied his request amid fears that he may not come back to face justice in his alleged plot to overthrow the government.
Bolsonaro, known as the "Trump of the Tropics," stands accused of plotting a coup to overthrow the 2022 election results where he lost to Lula. As part of the investigation, the federal police confiscated both his Brazilian and Italian passports as he was deemed a flight risk.
The former president tried to get his passports back, though, after he was invited by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Israel. However, this was also when The New York Times report that he stayed at the Hungarian embassy for two nights came out.
While he was being investigated, Bolsonaro, a friend of Hungarian autocrat Viktor Orban, stayed at the Hungarian embassy, with security cameras showing he had bodyguards and was being waited on by the Hungarian ambassador. However, this heightened fears that Bolsonaro was trying to hide at the embassy since Brazilian authorities have no jurisdiction there.
"It is absolutely premature to remove the restriction imposed on the investigated person," wrote Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes in the decision, which was in line with a recommendation from the prosecutor general's office, according to the Associated Press.
The Brazilian justice cited the prosecutor general's report, which reminded people that the former president's passports were taken to stop him from leaving Brazilian soil because of "the danger to the development of criminal investigations and the possible application of criminal law."
READ MORE: Jair Bolsonaro Under Probe for Allegedly Harassing a Humpback Whale May Be Fined 2,500 Reais ($500)
Jair Bolsonaro Admitting He Stayed at the Hungarian Embassy Not Enough
When the New York Times report came out the same day he submitted his request to get his passport back, Jair Bolsonaro's Israel trip was suddenly in danger. Soon after, Bolsonaro admitted to having stayed at the embassy for two nights.
However, while he admitted he stayed there, he said that he was just talking politics with the Hungarians and was not actually trying to escape the investigation against him. However, this excuse was not enough, as his Israel trip is still not happening.
Benjamin Netanyahu Inviting Jair Bolsonaro and Not Lula a Shot at Brazilian President
Bolsonaro's trip to Israel was supposed to be for an event scheduled for May. While it was not specified what event he would be attending, the window of his request came around Israel's Independence Day.
His trip there was supposed to be at the invite of Benjamin Netanyahu, who is feuding with Bolsonaro's top political rival, Brazil President Lula, who accused the Israeli government of genocide as Israel continues to attack Gaza.
Usually, invites to foreign leaders are given to those still in power, not former leaders. However, this invite to Bolsonaro is considered a very public snub of Lula, whom the Israeli leader had warned that he would not be welcome in Israel if he did not apologize, according to First Post. Lula infamously compared Israel's atrocities in Gaza to the Holocaust.
READ MORE: Trials for Jair Bolsonaro Supporters Begin Over the January 8 Riots
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Rick Martin
WATCH: Jair Bolsonaro's provocative views in six clips - Guardian News
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