The former president’s passport was taken just days after his arrest, according to a report released on Wednesday, in order to investigate his involvement in an alleged coup plot. Bolsonaro’s mobile phone was saved the asylum letter on his phone in February 2024.
The Argentine president’s office did not respond to a request for comment right away, and it was unclear whether the asylum request had been sent.
The final police report, which formally accused Bolsonaro and his American-based son Eduardo of trying to stifle the ex-president’s upcoming trial for allegedly plotting a coup, contained the asylum request document that was revealed on Wednesday.
If found guilty of plotting to overthrow Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as president in 2022, Bolsonaro’s trial is scheduled to begin on September 2. He could spend up to 40 years in prison.
The former president and his son are currently facing charges of “coercion in the judicial process” and “abolition of the democratic law” related to the coup case. The combined sentences for the two offenses could be as much as 12 years in prison.
O Dia, a news outlet in Brazil, reported on Wednesday that recordings were also discovered on a device that was seized during the Bolsonaro police investigation, which indicated “attempts to intimidate authorities and impede the progress of the investigations related to the investigation into the attack on democracy, including attempts to use external influence.”
Bolsonaro, who has been under house arrest since early August, has defended his innocence in the coup trial, which an allies US President Donald Trump has referred to as a “witch-hunt.”
Eduardo Bolsonaro’s son, Eduardo, resigned from his position as a Brazilian congressman in March and is now campaigning for the Trump administration to intervene on behalf of his father.
The Trump administration has successfully engaged in those lobbying efforts, including imposing sanctions on court officials against Brazil for the case.
Source: Aljazeera
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