Police in Brazil have accused former President Jair Bolsonaro, 70, and his 41-year-old son Eduardo of obstruction of justice.
They allege that the two tried to interfere in the trial currently under way against the elder Bolsonaro, in which he stands accused of leading an attempted coup after his defeat in the 2022 presidential election.
Police say they have found a document on Jair Bolsonaro’s mobile phone which suggests he planned to evade criminal proceedings by seeking asylum in Argentina.
They also accuse Eduardo Bolsonaro of lobbying the Trump administration on behalf of his father – which they say led to the US imposing punitive tariffs on Brazilian goods.
The 170-page police report comes less than two weeks before the start of the final phase of the coup trial and piles further pressure on the former leader.
Jair Bolsonaro denies conspiring to overturn his 2022 election loss to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
But he has questioned the fairness of the proceedings against him, alleging he is the target of a “political witch hunt”.
He told news agency Reuters last month that he had “no doubt” the five Supreme Court justices tasked with delivering the verdict had already made up their mind about convict him.
But at the time, he denied ever having made plans to try to evade the trial.
Jair Bolsonaro is currently under house arrest and is already barred from posting on social media and from contacting his son Eduardo for breaching court restrictions placed on him.
Credit: bbc.com
