In an early morning surprise, Federal police searched the home of former president Jair Bolsonaro. He’s being investigated for allegedly falsifying his COVID-19 vaccination records. Police seized Bolsonaro’s phone during the raid on his home. Federal agents also detained six people close to the former president for questioning, including Colonel Mauricio Cid, the ex-president’s former top aide. Search warrants were also issued for 10 other suspects. They are accused of forging vaccination cards supposedly to meet international requirements for travelers.
Bolsonaro compared the coronavirus to “a little flu” and revealed that he had tested positive for it multiple times. But according to data from the National Health Data Network, he had taken two doses of Pfizer. The first vaccination was given on August 13, 2022, and the second vaccination was given on October 14, 2022. In the Rio de Janeiro city of Duque de Caxias, both vaccination appointments took place at the municipal health center.
Bolsonaro still denies the allegations against him completely. He said that he has nothing to hide, not only about the vaccination card but anything. He has already been accused while he was president of downplaying the pandemic and of delaying the immunization campaign, in a country with the world’s second-largest COVID-19 death toll after the United States. The ex-president of Brazil questioned the effectiveness of the vaccines when they were finally imported and declared he would not receive them.
A congressional investigation in Brazil claimed that Mr. Bolsonaro ought to be charged with “crimes against humanity” because of the way he handled the pandemic, which claimed the lives of 700,000 Brazilians. The prosecution has not pursued these accusations.
Bolsonaro said not taking the vaccine was an individual choice. Vaccinations have not been administered to even his daughter, who is 12 years old. Investigators claim that his vaccination records were falsified to make it appear as though he had received them, despite the fact that he had not.
Inquiries on Bolsonaro
Bolsonaro left Brazil for the United States in December of last year, just before his term came to an end. Three months later, he came back. He has been the subject of numerous inquiries ever since. He was already questioned twice by the federal police last month, the first time regarding alleged irregularities involving the return of three sets of pricey jewelry that had been given to him by the Saudi Arabian government while he was still president. the second time for his purported involvement in starting the riots on January 8th.
The presidential palace, the Supreme Court, and Congress were ransacked by Bolsonaro’s supporters on January 8. The military was urged to remove President Wezina Salula Dasilva, who had only taken office a week earlier, by hundreds of rioters. After the riots, Bolsonaro insisted that he had nothing to do with them and that he had condemned them. The former president is also being investigated for disseminating false information and making repeated, unfounded claims that Brazil’s voting system was simple to rig.
Separately, the federal police are looking into Bolsonaro and his supporters for allegedly engaging in acts of genocide against the Indigenous Yanomami people in the Amazon rainforest by encouraging illegal miners to trespass on their territory and endanger their lives.
Sources: The NewYork Times; Mail Online
