PGR Recommends Maintaining Visit Restrictions for Jair Bolsonaro

Attorney General Paulo Gonet recommended on Wednesday that the Supreme Federal Court (STF) maintain restrictions on visits to former President Jair Bolsonaro while he serves house arrest. The restrictions were originally imposed by Justice Alexandre de Moraes after Senator Flávio Bolsonaro shared a handwritten letter from his father on social media that called for support for Flávio's presidential candidacy. This action was viewed as a violation of Bolsonaro's prohibition on using social media, whether directly or through third parties.

Bolsonaro's defense has appealed the decision, arguing that the prohibition is disproportionate and harms essential family bonds and the right to a legal defense. They further contend that the suspension of political rights does not automatically imply a restriction on freedom of expression. In response, Gonet argued that house arrest does not eliminate the rules of a closed regime and that visitation rights can be restricted when the conditions of the court are breached. He noted that Bolsonaro still has access to his technical legal team.

Reporting on the event varied by political lean. Center right sources emphasized the legal arguments regarding the nature of the closed regime and the specific details of the sentence, which one source noted is 27 years and 3 months for an attempted coup d'etat. The center left source focused on the specific breach of the social media ban and the PGR's assertion that Flávio Bolsonaro's role as a lawyer does not exempt him from the conditions of the humanitarian measure.