(AFP) – A Brazilian judge sanctioned by the United States for what President Donald Trump calls a “witch hunt” against a far-right ally vowed Friday to keep working and said his court “will not bow” to threats. The US Treasury imposed financial sanctions Wednesday on Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who it accused of seeking to be “judge and jury in an unlawful witch hunt against US and Brazilian citizens and companies.”
At the heart of the dispute is the trial of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, accused of plotting a coup to wrest back power after his 2022 election defeat to leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Trump also signed an executive order slapping 50 percent tariffs on Brazilian imports, citing Bolsonaro’s “politically motivated persecution.”
Moraes, in a rare public address, said Friday he would pay no heed to the sanctions and “continue working.” “This Court, the Office of the Attorney General, and the Federal Police will not bow to these threats,” he said during a court session. And he vowed the court would remain “absolutely uncompromising in defending national sovereignty and its commitment to democracy.”
Moraes has repeatedly taken aim at the Brazilian far-right and its figurehead Bolsonaro, as well as tech titan Elon Musk, over online disinformation. He is also the presiding judge in the coup trial of Bolsonaro, who risks a 40-year prison sentence. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has accused Moraes of “serious human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention involving flagrant denials of fair trial guarantees and infringing on the freedom of expression.”
Moraes recently ordered Bolsonaro to wear an electronic ankle bracelet pending the conclusion of his trial, and barred him from leaving his home at night or using social media pending an investigation into potential obstruction of justice.
© 2024 AFP
