Brazil: Will President Bolsonaro be prosecuted for crimes against humanity? | Israel today

A special committee of the local Senate which will convene this coming Tuesday could charge President Jair Bolsonaro with counts of negligence and crimes against humanity following the government’s handling of the Corona plague.

At the center of the discussion is a 1,178-page report, for which committee members have worked for the past six months, drawing extremely harsh conclusions against Bolsonaro and his three sons Carlos, Flavio and Eduardo, as well as other senior officials including Labor Minister Onyx Lorenzoni, Defense Minister Walter Braga Neto, State Comptroller Wagner Rosario and former ministers Eduardo Pausello (health) and Ernesto Araujo (foreign).

In the draft document that was distributed among the committee members and its details were obtained by Israel Today, the report's authors describe the failed policy they claim the government has pursued since the epidemic broke out over hundreds of pages.

Burial of the dead from Corona in Brazil, Photo: AP

"The conclusions of this committee were based on the evidence presented in recent months, in particular on the discussions that took place and the documents that were obtained," it said.

"All the evidence enabled the indictment against political agents and public servants, who had the power to define or influence decision-making related to the war in the Corona plague, as well as people who were involved in criminal activities," they ruled.

"Given the characterization of genocide and crimes against humanity," the report said, "the documents will also be sent to the International Criminal Court, given the inaction of the Brazilian authorities in the investigation and punishment of these crimes."

This is a significant blow to Bolsonaro, who is in the midst of an independent candidacy campaign ahead of the 2022 general election and is aiming to win a second term.

Incio "Lola" de Silva, Bolsonaro's bitter rival,

Despite this, the polls do not bode well for him in a battle that will probably be defined in a political duel of giants against his bitter rival Insio "Lola" de Silva, former Brazilian president of the Labor Party (2010-2003) who is acquitted of corruption charges and released from prison in June this year.

"The allegations against the government and against me have no legal basis and are not even logical," said Flavio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of the president and senator from Rio de Janeiro.

"Every vaccine in the country, without exception, has been purchased by the Bolsonaro government," he added.