The Supreme Court of Brazil has ordered the opening of an investigation against Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, Lula's main opponent in the October presidential election, for alleged "slander", after a publication linking the left-wing president to drug trafficking.
The 44-year-old senator, eldest son of former far-right head of state Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022), in return castigated “an attempt to restrict freedom of expression”.
According to the decision, obtained on Wednesday by AFP, Judge Alexandre de Moraes ordered the federal police to investigate to determine whether Flavio Bolsonaro had committed the offense of "slander" against Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva through this publication, broadcast on January 3 on social networks.
The opening of the investigations had been requested by the Ministry of Justice and received the approval of the prosecution, which considered that the publication attributed "falsely, publicly and in an insulting manner, criminal acts to the President of the Republic".
The federal police have 60 days to take the first steps.
In the publication in question, Flavio Bolsonaro associated an image of Lula with that of the then Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro. "Lula will be denounced", it is written in the caption, linking him to "international drug and arms trafficking, money laundering, support for terrorists and dictatorships, electoral fraud".
Flavio Bolsonaro indicated in a press release that he would give in “neither to intimidation nor to the use of the police and judicial apparatus to silence the opposition”.
"The Lula government must explain its relations with the Venezuelan dictatorship, and no amount of pressure will prevent our constitutional duty to defend the fundamental freedoms of Brazilians," he added.
- Knighted from prison -
Judge Moraes was also responsible for the trial during which Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison for attempted coup d'état.
The 71-year-old ex-president was found guilty of conspiring with close collaborators to prevent the return of Lula, after losing to him in the 2022 presidential election.
He has always proclaimed his innocence, saying he is a victim of political "persecution".
After several months of incarceration, Jair Bolsonaro was authorized by the same magistrate to serve his sentence under house arrest, in Brasilia, for "humanitarian" reasons, following a long hospitalization for bronchopneumonia.
In December, the former president designated his eldest son Flavio from prison as his political heir to contest the October presidential election against Lula, who plans to run for a fourth term at the age of 80.
Applications must be made official by August.
Several recent polls give the two favorites neck and neck for a possible second round. According to a survey
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