Brazilian police are investigating why the former president Jair Bolsonaro spent two nights in the Hungarian embassy in Brasilia last month immediately after his passport was confiscated in an investigation into an alleged plot to stage a military coup, an informed source said on Wednesday. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the police investigation report would be sent to Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who ordered an inquiry into the alleged plot for a military coup after Bolsonaro was defeated by the leftist in October 2022. ;ar Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro has denied any involvement in the plot, but former army and air force commanders earlier this month said in a statement to police that Bolsonaro had asked them to join plans for the coup. They said they refused to join.
Bolsonaro’s stay in the Hungarian embassy between February 12 and 14 was first reported on Monday by the New York Times based on security camera footage showing him entering the diplomatic complex.
On February 8, police seized Bolsonaro’s passport and accused him of preparing a draft decree to annul the results of the 2022 election, pressuring military commanders to join the coup and planning to imprison Moraes.
Moraes gave Bolsonaro until Wednesday to explain to the Supreme Court the purpose of his stay, court officials said.
Bolsonaro’s lawyer, Fabio Wajngarten, said on social media on Monday that the former president was at the embassy “to maintain contact with officials of a friendly country” and “receive updates on the political horizon of the two countries.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a nationalist who is in power more 14 years old, he is a political ally of far-right Bolsonaro. The Hungarian embassy in Brasilia did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Since he is no longer in power, Bolsonaro has maintained close relations with Orbán, 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 Miley.
Last year, a Brazilian court ruled that Bolsonaro was ineligible for political office until 2030 due to the spread of electoral disinformation during the 2022 elections.
He also faces possible criminal charges for fraud related to his covid-19 vaccination certificate.