Only lawyers are allowed to see the former president without the prior approval of the Court; prohibition of using phones also values for visitors
The Federal Supreme Court Minister (), when decreeing the former president’s house arrest on Monday (4), prohibited cell phone use. The measure does not only apply to Bolsonaro, but also to anyone authorized to visit it. Only lawyers are allowed to visit Bolsonaro without prior court authorization. For the others, the Supreme needs to approve each visit. “Visitors authorized by this Supreme Court, in this decision or from requirements formulated in the file, are expressly prohibited from using cell phone, taking pictures or recording images,” Moraes wrote.
Previously, the minister had already banned Bolsonaro from accessing social networks, either directly or with the help of third parties, as posts in his children’s profiles. Now the new decision expands this restriction, prohibiting mobile phone use in general, not just to access the internet. In the document, Moraes also reaffirmed other prohibitions already imposed, such as contact with ambassadors, foreign authorities or other defendants involved in the inquiries.
Moraes justified house arrest stating that Bolsonaro used his allies’ social networks, including his three parliamentary children, to “disseminate messages with clear encouragement content and instigation to attacks on the Federal Supreme Court and ostensible support for foreign intervention in the Brazilian judiciary.”
“There is no doubt that there was the breach of the precautionary measure imposed on Jair Messias Bolsonaro,” Moraes wrote. For the minister, Bolsonaro’s performance, even without using his own profiles, was a deliberate attempt to circumvent the previous restriction. As a result, Moraes ordered the former president to comply with house arrest at his residential address, with the following measures: use of an electronic anklet. Prohibition of visits, except for close family members and lawyers. Collection of all cell phones that are on site.
The order points out that Bolsonaro’s behavior demonstrates the need for more severe measures to “avoid the defendant’s criminal continuous reiteration”, as he disrespected the less serious precautionary measures, such as the ban on social networks and contact with other investigators.
*Report produced with the aid of AI
Posted by Fernando Dias
