Lawyers for former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) asked Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), to return the passport seized during Operation Tempus Veritatisat the beginning of February, which targeted him, former ministers, former advisors, allies and military personnel in the investigation investigating an alleged coup attempt.
The request was made last Monday (25) and made public this Thursday (28) by lawyer Fabio Wajngarten, who is part of Bolsonaro’s defense team. The justification for returning the passport is that the former president received an official invitation from Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to visit the country with his family between May 12th and 18th.
“As it is in the public domain, international relations are part of political activity, as well as expanding dialogue with global leaders,” stated Wajngarten.
The defense team wrote in the petition that “it is crucial to emphasize that authorization for this trip does not pose any risk to the process [da investigação que levou à operação]especially considering the commitments previously scheduled in Brazil, which require the presence of the petitioner upon his return from Israel.”
“This circumstance not only attests to the applicant’s responsibility and commitment to his local obligations, but also reinforces the transitory and temporary nature of the trip in question”, completes the petition, which contains Netanyahu’s invitation as an annex.
A People’s Gazette He contacted the STF to ask for a position on the progress of the request made by Bolsonaro’s defense and is awaiting a response.
The request to return the passport was filed on the same day it was revealed by the newspaper The New York Times that Bolsonaro spent two days sheltering in the Hungarian embassy in February, shortly after the launch of Operation Tempus Veritatis.
This Wednesday (27), his defense sent the STF an explanation about the stay requested by Moraes, stating that he dealt with “strategic issues of international politics of interest to the conservative sector”, denying that there was any request for asylum or attempt to escape. .
This is the second request from Bolsonaro’s defense to return his passport. The first was carried out almost a week after the February police operation, in which lawyer Paulo Cunha Bueno classified the seizure as “absurd” and that the former president “never gave any indication that he would escape”.
