Brazil's Supreme Court orders Bolsonaro to return arsenal to authorities
Justice Minister Alexandre de Moraes has ordered the former Brazilian president to hand over all firearms to the Federal Police within two days.
Brazil's Supreme Court orders Bolsonaro to return arsenal to authorities
Justice Minister Alexandre de Moraes of Brazil's Supreme Federal Court issued an order on Monday requiring Jair Bolsonaro, the former head of state convicted of conspiracy against democratic order, to surrender all of his licenced firearms to law enforcement. The deadline for compliance with the ruling is 48 hours.
Bolsonaro was sentenced in September of last year to more than 27 years imprisonment for attempted subversion of the regime. Since then, he has been serving his sentence at home for health reasons. However, last month authorities discovered that he was keeping firearms at his residence, which is incompatible with his status as a house-bound prisoner.
The former president owns ten legally registered weapons. The arsenal includes high-powered military rifles and recently manufactured semi-automatic pistols. The existence of this material came to light when an Army officer responsible for Bolsonaro's security was stopped during a traffic check in Brasília carrying a Glock 9mm pistol. The man explained that he was heading to the former governor's house to return the firearm, which had been sent for repair.
Initially, Bolsonaro's lawyers argued that they themselves had disabled the weapon, fearing that their client, under the influence of medications that cause hallucinations, might commit violent acts. Subsequently, Bolsonaro himself confirmed ownership of the pistol and admitted having asked the officer to have it repaired. The former president argued for the necessity of keeping weapons at home to protect his family members, including his spouse, his minor daughter and his stepdaughter.
In his ruling, Moraes — who presided over the trial that convicted Bolsonaro and is overseeing the execution of the sentence — ordered that all firearms, both those found at the former governor's residence and those his lawyers claim have been deposited at a military facility in Brasília, be immediately transferred to the custody of the Federal Police. Furthermore, the justice minister revoked Bolsonaro's gun collector and sports shooter licence, barring him from acquiring weapons in the future.
In the previous week, Moraes had threatened to revoke Bolsonaro's house arrest benefit following the discovery of the arsenal. However, he backed down after receiving a ruling from the Attorney General of the Republic, Paulo Gonet, who opposed the measure. According to the AGR, there was no violation of the conditions of the house arrest regime, since the order granting the benefit did not require the surrender of firearms.
Source: Correio da Manhã