Justice Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), decided this Friday (17) to uphold the confiscation of former President Jair Bolsonaro's passport, keeping him prohibited from traveling abroad. The precautionary measure, enforced since February 2023, is part of the investigation into the group that sought to carry out a coup d'état following the 2022 elections.

After an initial request to travel to the United States was denied, Bolsonaro filed an appeal with the STF. His lawyers argued that the trip would be "specific," with the "sole purpose" of attending Donald Trump’s inauguration, scheduled for January 20. They also claimed that the former president has fully complied with the measures imposed by the STF since his passport was confiscated.

However, Moraes decided to uphold the decision denying the initial request, maintaining the same reasoning - the risk of flight to evade criminal accountability. The appeal has been forwarded to the Office of the Prosecutor General (PGR), which will have five days to issue an opinion.

Read the full decision.

(Gustavo Aguiar//CF-FB)

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