Brazil: Police Request Bolsonaro’s Charge for Falsification of Vaccination Certificates · Global Voices

Her police today suggested that the former president be prosecuted for falsifying coronavirus vaccination certificates. The report of the Brazilian police investigation was submitted to the office of the attorney general who should decide whether or not there is reason to prosecute Bolsonaro. According to federal police, Bolsonaro and 8 other persons are involved in falsifying vaccination certificates, aiming “to gain advantages associated with bypassing health measures during the pandemic”. The events took place between November 2021–December 2022, according to the 231-page report. Bolsonaro traveled to the U.S. in December 2022, two days before his term expired and before Luis Inacio Lula da Silva’s inauguration, from which he was defeated in the election. Bolsonaro’s daughter, Mauro Sid’s former close associate, other advisers, and one MP are alleged to have benefited from this fraud. Police are calling for prosecution on charges of gang formation for the purpose of introducing false data into the public system. ‘This is a political prosecution’ Fabio Vaingarten, Bolsonaro’s lawyer, denounced this “political prosecution”, as he described it. He argued that at the time he was president, 68-year-old Bolsonaro was not obliged to show any certificate when he was to travel. The former president had testified last May to federal police, Brasilia, about this case and his house was investigated. At the time, he had denied the charges and argued that authorities were trying to “construct” a case against him. In a parallel investigation, the Brazilian audit service concluded in January that Bolsonaro’s vaccination certificate was “plastic” as “inconsistency” was found between the health ministry’s files and other official organisations. This investigation was aimed at establishing whether federal employees were involved in forgery. However, the agency recommended that the case be entered into the file, because there was no “sufficient evidence” to find the real culprits after a large number of employees had access to the information system and could introduce the fake data. During his tenure (2019-22) Bolsonaro never stopped criticising vaccines for coronaium by confirming that he did not intend to be vaccinated against the virus that cost the life to 700,000 people in Brazil. He also admitted then that he was not vaccinated.