By Rodrigo Beam Gaier
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Brazilian police are investigating why former President Jair Bolsonaro spent two nights at the Hungarian embassy in Brasilia last month soon after his passport was seized as part of a investigation into an alleged military coup plot, a source familiar with the matter. said Tuesday.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the police report on the investigation will be sent to Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes, who ordered the probe into an alleged military coup plot after the defeat of Bolsonaro in October 2022 by the left. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro has denied any involvement in a conspiracy, but former army and air force commanders told police in depositions earlier this month that Bolsonaro had asked them to join plans for a coup. They said they refused to join.
Bolsonaro’s stay at the Hungarian embassy between February 12 and 14 was first reported Monday by the New York Times, based on security camera footage that showed him entering the diplomatic compound.
On February 8, police seized Bolsonaro’s passport and accused him of modifying a draft decree to overturn the results of the 2022 elections, of pressuring military leaders to join a coup and of having planned to incarcerate Moraes.
Moraes set a deadline on Wednesday for Bolsonaro to explain to the supreme court the purpose of his stay, court officials said.
Bolsonaro’s lawyer, Fabio Wajngarten, said on social media Monday evening that the former president was at the embassy “to maintain contact with officials from the friendly country” and “get updates on the political landscape of both nations.” .
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a nationalist in power for 14 years, is a political ally of the far-right Bolsonaro. The Hungarian embassy in Brasilia did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Since leaving power, Bolsonaro has maintained close ties with Orban, whom he called his “brother” during a visit to Budapest in 2022. The two met this year during the inauguration of Argentina’s right-wing President Javier Milei.
A Brazilian court last year ruled that Bolsonaro is ineligible to hold political office until 2030 for spreading election disinformation during the 2022 election.
He is also facing potential criminal charges for fraud related to his COVID-19 vaccination card.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Writing by Steven Grattan; Editing by Anthony Boadle and Michael Perry)