US President removes sanctions on Brazilian judge who presided over conviction of Bolsonaro

Washington DC [US], December 13 (ANI): The US on Friday lifted sanctions against a Brazilian Supreme Court justice who had presided over the conviction and imprisonment of former President Jair Bolsonaro for attempting to overturn the country's 2022 election, The New York Times reported.

The US government imposed sanctions against the justice, Alexandre de Moraes, in July under the Global Magnitsky Act after the case was brought against Bolsonaro, a Trump ally. The Magnitsky Act is a rarely used law that allows the United States to impose asset freezes and travel bans on foreigners accused of serious human rights abuses or corruption.

The justice's wife, Viviane Barci de Moraes, and her law-training firm were also hit with sanctions. But according to a notice issued by the Treasury Department on Friday, Justice Moraes, his wife and her firm, Instituto Lex, were removed from the sanctions registry.

A senior Trump administration official said that maintaining the designation was no longer consistent with US foreign policy interests, as per New York Times.

Brazil's Supreme Court did not immediately comment on the decision. Justice Moraes, speaking at an event in São Paulo attended by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, said, "The truth prevailed today, Mr. President." He added, "The Brazilian judiciary did not bow to threats or coercion, and it will not do so, continuing to act with impartiality, seriousness and courage."

Lula said, "I was very happy about it." He added, "It was not right for the president of another country to punish a justice of Brazil's Supreme Court simply for carrying out the Brazilian Constitution."

Justice Moraes has aggressively targeted perceived threats to democracy in Brazil, though some of his actions, including ordering the jailing of people for social media posts, were themselves seen as anti-democratic, as per New York Times.

He also drew sharp criticism from Trump for overseeing the trial of Bolsonaro. The former Brazilian president was arrested on charges that he had overseen a coup plot and a plan to poison Lula, who defeated him in the 2022 vote. The case was seen by as a crucial test of the country's democracy.

Bolsonaro denied plotting to kill Lula and said what the police portrayed as a coup attempt had simply been his efforts to study "ways within the Constitution" to remain in power.

Trump sent a letter to Lula describing the prosecution of Bolsonaro as a "witch hunt" that should end immediately. He also accused Brazil's Supreme Court of unlawful censorship directed at US social media companies, as reported by New York Times.

As tensions escalated, Trump imposed tariffs on Brazilian exports, including steel and agricultural goods. The United States is Brazil's second-largest trading partner after China, and Brazil supplies about one-third of the coffee consumed in the country, as well as significant beef exports.

US coffee prices rose sharply amid the tariffs and weather-related supply shortages.

Lula threatened to retaliate, stressing that the Bolsonaro case was a matter for Brazil's independent judiciary. In September, Brazil's Supreme Court convicted the former president and sentenced him to 27 years in prison. He remains in federal police custody in Brasilia, the capital.

Ultimately, tensions between the countries eased. The tariffs were lifted last month, after a series of diplomatic talks, including phone calls between the two presidents. After the calls, Mr. Trump said the leaders had discussed sanctions and trade.

"We had a very good talk," Trump said of Lula. "I like him."

Brazil's foreign minister, Mauro Vieira, speaking to reporters on Friday, said the lifting of the sanctions had been requested by Lula as part of ongoing talks with US government officials.

"It was a long negotiation, but it was done," Vieira said.

Allies of Bolsonaro criticised the US decision. In a public statement, Eduardo Bolsonaro, a son of the former president, said he was "saddened" by the move to lift sanctions against Justice Moraes but expressed hope that Trump's decision would succeed in defending what he called the strategic interests of the United States.

The younger Bolsonaro, a federal lawmaker who has been living in the United States since March, has said he does not plan to return to Brazil, citing what he describes as political persecution. (ANI)

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