Bolsonaro cannot enter a stadium in Brazil 1:30
(CNN) -
Brazilian senators investigating Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's handling of the pandemic decided Tuesday night to withdraw recommendations of mass murder and genocide charges against him, CNN Brasil, affiliate reported from CNN.
The allegations first appeared in a nearly 1,200-page preliminary report leaked to CNN by a representative of the Brazilian Senate's Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) on the pandemic.
The draft report effectively blames Bolsonaro's policies for the deaths of more than 300,000 Brazilians, half of the total number of deaths from COVID-19 in the nation, the highest in the world after the United States.
Late on Tuesday, at the end of a meeting, ICC President Senator Omar Aziz said that charges of genocide against Brazilian indigenous communities should be removed from the text due to a lack of consensus.
"What we agreed on is the issue of genocide, which was withdrawn. I think it is for the better. (The author of the report), Senator Renan Calheiros listened to everyone's arguments, that was very clear," Aziz told reporters.
ICC Vice President Senator Randolfe Rodrigues said the recommendation for the "mass murder" charges would also be withdrawn and replaced by charges of "epidemic resulting in death," CNN Brazil reported.
advertising
A leaked report on covid-19 calls for mass murder charges against the president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro
Bolsonaro will still have to answer charges of crimes against humanity, incitement to commit crimes and "charlatanism" for his handling of the pandemic.
The final document is expected to be officially presented in the Brazilian Senate on Wednesday and voted on next week.
Bolsonaro's office did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment.
The president, who is running for re-election next year, has previously criticized the investigation into his handling of the pandemic on political grounds.
In July, Bolsonaro accused the ICC of ignoring other corruption allegations across Brazil to focus on him and his government.
"They want to accuse me of genocide. Now, tell me in which country have not people died? This ICC has no credibility," Bolsonaro said.
He also said then that "he was sorry for the dead, but people who were healthy had little chance of dying."
Jair Bolsonaro says he will not be vaccinated against covid-19
Bolsonaro has long downplayed the severity of the virus and advocated the need to prioritize Brazil's economic health.
Tested positive for covid-19 in 2020.
Reporting by Rodrigo Pedroso and Shasta Darlington of CNN in Sao Paulo, and Samantha Beech in Atlanta.
Jair bolsonaro