Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is facing criminal charges after a Senate investigative committee has approved a report that is calling for the official to be indicted for nine crimes related to his response and handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
The report, which was released on Tuesday, detailed in its more than 1,300 pages, which took the committee more than six months to prepare, that 77 other people and two companies committed similar crimes.
Criminal Charges
Last week, a draft report was released that called for President Bolsonaro to be indicted for genocide and murder. However, senators later opted to drop the harsh charges due to what lawmakers explained to be technical reasons. Additionally, 10 people were included in the list that were not there before to be indicted.
The list of people included in the group of individuals being charged was the governor of interior Amazonas state Wilson Lima. In that region, the lack of hospital oxygen supplies led to the deaths of many people due to asphyxia earlier this year. Lima's government is currently facing a federal investigation regarding corruption related to the purchase of medical equipment, Aljazeera reported.
Despite the charges, Bolsonaro has maintained he is "guilty of absolutely nothing" amid the pandemic that has caused him to receive severe criticisms. The death toll in Brazil is only second in the world to the United States.
While the charges attempt to indict the Brazilian president for several criminal acts, there is no guarantee that the vote will lead to actual criminal charges. This is because the report's recommendations are required to be assessed by Prosecutor-General Augusto Aras, who is believed to be supportive of Bolsonaro.
Additionally, the senators' report alleged that President Bolsonaro's government pursued a policy of allowing the coronavirus pandemic to spread through the country in the hopes of letting residents achieve herd immunity. The documents describe the Brazilian president as "the main person responsible for the errors committed by the federal government during the pandemic," BBC reported.
Crimes Against Humanity
The situation comes after former United States President Donald Trump expressed his support for Bolsonaro ahead of the 2022 elections. The Republican businessman's announcement is the latest in his series of endorsements and the first that is of someone from another country.
In his statement, Trump praised Bolsonaro and said they became "great friends" in the past few years. The Republican also touted the Brazilian president's work ethic and personality, saying he had the motivation of fighting for the Brazilian people due to his love for them. Trump compared Bolsonaro's feelings for his people to his own love for Americans.
Trump continued by saying that the Brazilian nation was lucky to have a president such as Bolsonaro serving them. The Republican called Bolsonaro a "great president" who would never let his people down.
The vote to push Bolsonaro to face criminal indictments in a 7-4 vote by the Brazilian Senate. The list of criminal charges includes crimes against humanity, which were made after a six-month investigation into Bolsonaro's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, Yahoo News reported.
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