Brazil Senators Back Criminal Charges Against Bolsonaro Over Covid Handling

BoomRadioNG | October 28, 2021

Brazilian senators have voted to recommend charging President Jair Bolsonaro over his handling of the devastating Covid pandemic. A Senate panel backed a report calling for charges against Bolsonaro including crimes against humanity, after 600,000 deaths from coronavirus.

The report alleges that Bolsonaro’s government pursued a policy of allowing coronavirus to rip through the country in the hope of achieving herd immunity. It describes the president as “the main person responsible for the errors committed by the federal government during the pandemic”.

President Jair Bolsonaro
(Brasília – DF, 24/04/2019) Pronunciamento do Presidente da República, Jair Bolsonaro.
Foto: Isac Nóbrega/PR

The report’s lead author, centrist Senator Renan Calheiros, called for the panel’s recommendation to charge President Bolsonaro with crimes against humanity to be submitted to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The report has been handed to the chief prosecutor, a Bolsonaro appointee.

The president has maintained he is “guilty of absolutely nothing” but the crisis has dented his popularity.

Brazil’s death toll is second only to that of the United States.

Paul Ayorinde

Tagged as Bolsonaro, Boomradiong, Brazilian senate, Covid pandemic, Paul Ayorinde, President Jair Bolsonaro, Senator Renan Calheiros.

Written by BoomRadioNG