MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolsonaro's testimony can be obtained abroad, Minister Dino says

Dino also said he hoped Bolsonaro would show some “common sense”

Brazil's Federal Police could take statements from former President Jair Bolsonaro abroad, Justice and Public Safety Minister Flavio Dino said Tuesday. However, in order to carry out such a procedure, international legal cooperation would be necessary, Dino explained. Bolsonaro, who is in the United States since before ending his term, is under investigation for the Jan. 8 riots in Brasilia, among other cases.

Since Bolsonaro has announced no date for his return to Brazil, he may be forced to give testimony even abroad, Dino pointed out, according to Agencia Brasil.

Bolsonaro is investigated in different ongoing inquiries at the Federal Police (PF), among them the one investigating attacks on electronic ballot boxes and the electoral system, and the one investigating his involvement as one of the possible intellectual authors of the coup acts of January 8.

“There is an ongoing investigation, and he is one of those formally investigated and, of course, at some point, he will have to be heard,” Dino told reporters after attending an event at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia.

“If he doesn't appear in the next few months, it is clear that the Federal Police will ask for action. Who to ask? The Judiciary, so that it can set in motion some mechanism of international cooperation, which is a trend that we are defending. It is not something restricted to this investigation,” Dino added. In the minister's view, there is no deadline for such a measure to be requested. “It's not something that is placed on the agenda, today or tomorrow, but, in the limit, some international legal cooperation providence would be possible, a letter rogatory, for example, would be possible,” he explained. Dino also said he hoped Bolsonaro would show some “common sense.” A letter rogatory is a legal instrument for communication between the courts of different countries.

Regarding the decision by the Federal Supreme Court (STF) to investigate and try civilians and military personnel alike if they are suspected of any involvement in the Jan. 8 storming of the headquarters of the three branches of government, Dino explained that Justice Alexandre De Moraes' ruling went the way the Federal Police requested.

De Moraes also opened an investigation into the participation of members of the Armed Forces and the Military Police of the Federal District suspected of participating in the uprising seeking a coup.

Meanwhile, De Moraes decided between Monday and Tuesday to release 173 more people who were arrested after the Jan. 8 uprising. The releases were determined in a series of orders in a case under secretive review by De Moraes, who found that the conduct of these people was of lesser seriousness and thus their pre-trial detention could be lifted, although other measures such as electronic anklets, passport withholding and a ban to leave home at night and during weekends will remain in force, in addition to the termination of any registration to possess or carry weapons and a prohibition to communicate with other suspects, plus weekly appearances before a judge.

Hence, detainees from Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Espírito Santo, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, and São Paulo were allowed to return to their homes.

(Source: Agencia Brasil)