Latest news with #coupattempt
Bloomberg
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
US Sanctions Brazil Supreme Court Justice Over Bolsonaro Case
The US imposed sanctions on Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, escalating its targeting of the judge overseeing legal probes into whether former President Jair Bolsonaro attempted a coup after his 2022 election defeat. The sanctions are under the Global Magnitsky Designation, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced Wednesday.
Mail & Guardian
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Mail & Guardian
Türkiye marks 9 years since the failed 15 July coup
Ambassador Nilvana Turkiye witnessed the bloodiest coup attempt in its modern history on July 15, 2016, when Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) headed by Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric and businessman who lived in self-imposed exile in the state of Pennsylvania in the US from 1999 until his passing in 2024, launched a coordinated attempt to topple President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government. The terrorist group had been infiltrating the state for decades, using state resources, tools, equipment and weapons to stage a coup against the legitimate, elected government. In both scale and nature, it was unlike any other coup in the republic's history. Turkiye has experienced eight coups and coup attempts over the past 60 years. This attempted coup in 2016 saw 252 people being killed and 2,734 being wounded. In Pretoria, South Africa on 15 July 2025 The Maarif Foundation South Africa and Yunus Emre Institute, in collaboration with the University of Pretoria, hosted a timely panel discussion exploring how democracies resist unconstitutional changes of government. Drawing on the July 15, 2016 coup attempt, the event offered reflections and insights relevant to democratic resilience across the continent. In her address Turkish Ambassador Nilvana Darama Yıldırımgeç said that Türkiye's experience holds important lessons that go beyond its borders and speak to the value of protecting democracy everywhere. Important lessons worth noting from this heinous attempt include : Democracy must be protected not just by governments, but by citizens themselves. Unity is the greatest strength The coup demonstrated how dangerous it is when illegal groups secretly infiltrate state institutions. Strong leadership and a free media played a vital role. Democracy is never guaranteed, it should be constantly defended by all generations. This is not only a message for Türkiye, but for the world. ' Never take democracy for granted.' Ambassador Yıldırımgeç went on to say that in an interconnected world, threats to democracy often cross borders. There are still individuals who participated in the 2016 coup who continue their activities abroad. Most commonly under the guise of education, media or civil society, their aim is to mislead public opinion against Turkiye. 'Remember – Democracy is not something we inherit — it is something we must build, protect, nurture, and defend every day. '
The Guardian
18-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Bolsonaro ordered to wear ankle tag over fears he may abscond as coup trial nears end
Federal police have raided Jair Bolsonaro's Brasília mansion, banned him from communicating with foreign diplomats and ordered him to wear an electronic ankle tag amid fears Brazil's ex-president may abscond to avoid punishment over an alleged coup attempt. A supreme court trial examining claims that Bolsonaro masterminded a murderous plot to seize power after losing the 2022 election is expected to reach its conclusion in the coming weeks. A guilty verdict is widely seen as a foregone conclusion and political opponents have voiced concern that the far-right politician could try to dodge a sentence of up to 43 years by seeking refuge in a foreign embassy or even trying to leave the country. In February last year, Bolsonaro spent two nights inside the Hungarian embassy in the capital, Brasília, after federal police seized his passport. Fears that Bolsonaro may flee abroad have intensified in recent days after Donald Trump announced he would impose 50% tariffs on Brazil as a result of what he called the 'witch-hunt' against his rightwing ally. On Thursday, the US president published a letter to Bolsonaro on social media in which he denounced the 'terrible treatment' he claimed his ally was receiving from the Brazilian government. Hours after the White House's two-paragraph note of support, heavily armed federal police agents arrived outside Bolsonaro's home in a palm-lined upmarket corner of the capital called Botanical Garden. Police confirmed the operation in a brief statement that said two search warrants had been executed and 'preventative measures' imposed. The statement made no mention of what those restrictions were, but local media reports said they included obliging Bolsonaro to wear a monitoring tag on his ankle, ordering him to remain at home between 7pm and 7am and on weekends, and forbidding him from speaking to foreign ambassadors or diplomats or visiting diplomatic compounds. Bolsonaro was also banned from using social media, where he has millions of followers. The television network TV Globo claimed police had found $14,000 (£10,400) in cash during their search of Bolsonaro's two-storey villa. A USB flash drive that had allegedly been 'hidden in the bathroom' was also reportedly seized. Federal police are investigating what role, if any, Bolsonaro had in convincing Trump to hit Brazil with 50% tariffs in an apparent attempt to pressure Brazilian authorities into dropping the charges against Bolsonaro or pardoning him. His congressman son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, travelled to the US in February and has reportedly spent recent weeks lobbying Trump administration officials to impose sanctions on Alexandre de Moraes, the high-profile supreme court judge presiding over the investigation into his father. Eduardo Bolsonaro celebrated Trump's tariffs last week, tweeting: 'THANK YOU PRESIDENT TRUMP – MAKE BRAZIL FREE AGAIN.' But if Trump's politically motivated trade war was designed to help the Bolsonaros, it appears to have backfired. Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – whom Bolsonaro allegedly conspired against to stop him taking office – has enjoyed a bounce in the polls, which analysts have attributed to his handling of the crisis. On Thursday night, Lula gave a televised address to the nation in which he attacked Trump's 'unacceptable blackmail' and painted the politicians who supported it as 'traitors to the nation'. 'Trying to meddle in the Brazilian judicial system represents a serious attack on national sovereignty,' Lula said. Speaking to reporters after the raid on his home, Bolsonaro denied leading a conspiracy to prevent Lula taking power by staging a military coup. The ex-president also denied he was considering fleeing abroad. 'I have never thought about leaving Brazil. I have never thought about going into a [foreign] embassy,' Bolsonaro said, although he admitted he had been planning to lunch with a group of ambassadors next week. 'I won't go any more,' he said, describing the police operation as 'supreme humiliation'. In a statement, Bolsonaro's lawyer, Celso Vilardi, voiced 'surprise and anger' over the 'severe' restrictions imposed upon his client.
Telegraph
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Jair Bolsonaro ordered to wear ankle tag
has been ordered to wear an ankle tag in a move he described as 'a supreme humiliation'. The development came as federal police searched the former Brazilian president's home and his party headquarters in Brasília, following a Supreme Court order. The order prohibits Mr Bolsonaro from leaving the house at night, communicating with foreign ambassadors and diplomats or approaching embassies. The former president is also barred from using social media or contacting other individuals under investigation by the Supreme Court, including his son, the Trump ally Eduardo Bolsonaro. Mr Bolsonaro is currently on trial at the Supreme Court accused of leading an alleged attempt to stage a coup to overturn the 2022 election, in which he was defeated by Left-wing president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. 'It is a supreme humiliation,' the ex-president told journalists after attaching the ankle monitor. 'I never thought about leaving Brazil, I never thought about going to an embassy, but the precautionary measures are because of that.' On Thursday, Mr Trump wrote to Mr Bolsonaro describing his ally's treatment by the Brazilian legal system as terrible and unjust. 'This trial should end immediately!' Mr Trump said, adding that he 'strongly voiced' his disapproval through his tariff policy levying 50 per cent on Brazil's imports and urging the country to end its 'witch hunt' against Mr Bolsonaro. On Friday, Mr Bolsonaro told Reuters he would meet with Mr Trump if he had access to his passport. His passport was seized last year on orders from Brazil's Supreme Court. The Supreme Court's restrictions on Mr Bolsonaro are part of a second investigation against his son for allegedly working with American authorities to impose sanctions on Brazilian officials. Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is also the rapporteur of the case, said that the former president and his son's recent actions were 'blatant confessions of criminal conduct,' such as coercion during legal proceedings, obstruction of investigations and attacks on national sovereignty. Flávio Bolsonaro, Mr Bolsonaro's older son, said on X: 'Prohibiting a father from speaking to his own son is the greatest symbol of the hatred that has consumed Alexandre de Moraes.' Officers search office Live aerial footage from local broadcasters showed federal police vehicles outside Mr Bolsonaro's residence in Brasília. Congressman Sóstenes Cavalcante, the leader of Mr Bolsonaro's party in the lower house, said that officers also searched the former leader's office at the party's headquarters. He described the operation as 'another chapter in the persecution of conservatives and Right-wing figures' in Brazil. Mr Bolsonaro's lawyer has not yet commented. On Tuesday, Brazil's prosecutor general Paulo Gonet said in a report to the Supreme Court that the 'evidence is clear: the defendant acted systematically, throughout his mandate and after his defeat at the polls, to incite insurrection and the destabilisation of the democratic rule of law'.
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Brazil's Former President Jair Bolsonaro Ordered to Wear Ankle Monitor After Police Raid
(Bloomberg) -- Brazil's Supreme Court sent police to raid the home of former President Jair Bolsonaro and to attach a monitor to his ankle just hours after Donald Trump piled pressure on the South American nation to drop criminal charges against his right-wing ally. The Dutch Intersection Is Coming to Save Your Life Mumbai Facelift Is Inspired by 200-Year-Old New York Blueprint Advocates Fear US Agents Are Using 'Wellness Checks' on Children as a Prelude to Arrests LA Homelessness Drops for Second Year Manhattan, Chicago Murder Rates Drop in 2025, Officials Say Bolsonaro, who is about to stand trial over an alleged coup attempt, was banned from using social media and will now face an evening curfew, according to the Supreme Court order issued on Friday. The former president is also prohibited from communicating with foreign diplomats and getting close to embassies. Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who authored the decision, cited obstruction of justice and a flight risk as motives for the measures. Bolsonaro's legal team said in a statement that it received word of the measures 'with surprise and indignation,' adding that the former president 'has always complied with all rulings issued by the judiciary.' The early morning raid is the latest escalation in a high-stakes standoff between the governments of the Western hemisphere's most populous nations. Last week, Trump threatened President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva with a 50% levy on Brazilian goods due to the treatment of Bolsonaro and what the US head of state claims are unfair trade practices. Brazil's currency, the real, gained 0.2% in late morning trading after initially falling as much as 0.4% on open. It erased losses after a member of Bolsonaro's family called on Trump to drop his tariff threat. Brazil's Case While Trump has fired off a flurry of tariff letters to leaders around the world in recent days, Brazil's case has been unique. Latin America's largest economy runs a trade deficit with the US, while almost all of Trump's other targets post large surpluses. Its 79-year-old president has shown no signs of heeding to American demands. Lula, as the former union leader is universally known, has seized the moment to reinvigorate his progressive base after flagging in opinion polls. He has appeared on Brazil's airwaves almost daily, accusing his adversaries of seeking foreign intervention and vowing to defend national sovereignty. 'We don't want to fight, but we don't flee,' Lula said on Thursday while he visited the northeastern state of Bahia. 'Brazil only has one owner: the Brazilian people.' Meanwhile, Trump's threats have created chaos for Brazilian conservatives as they seek to find an answer to the upheaval US levies will cause. Even Bolsonaro's closest confidants have begun to buckle as pressure mounts at home and abroad. Following the Friday morning raid, Bolosonaro's son, Flavio Bolsonaro, a senator, made an appeal to Trump on social media to 'suspend the 50% tariff on Brazilian imports and impose individual sanctions.' The post was later deleted. Deeply Personal The clash with the US has become personal for Lula, who narrowly defeated Bolsonaro less than three years ago. Days after Lula's 2023 inauguration, Bolsonaro's supporters stormed the capital, Brasilia, and ransacked government buildings under the false belief the election had been stolen. Bolsonaro, a former army captain and longtime Trump admirer, has denied involvement in the attacks. But he and his allies amplified baseless claims about the integrity of Brazil's voting system, which fueled the rage of rioters. Out of government, the former head of state's legal woes have spiraled. He is currently facing multiple criminal cases, including accusations that he sold presidential gifts for personal gain and actively worked to discredit Brazil's voting system, which led authorities to confiscate his passport and ban him from holding public office. The danger of jail time led his lawmaker son Eduardo Bolsonaro to step away from his congressional duties earlier this year and relocate to Washington DC, where he has lobbied the Trump administration to take action against Brazil's Supreme Court. Brazil government opponents allege the court has tried to silence conservative voices and persecute the current president's foes, a claim that has gained traction among Trump's allies. In a public letter to Bolsonaro on Thursday, Trump blasted the Brazilian government as a 'ridiculous censorship regime' and said the former head of state's trial, which is expected to begin later this year, 'should end immediately!' Moraes has continued to work through Brazil's judicial recess in July. On Monday, the Prosecutor General's Office submitted its closing arguments, detailing the charges, listing the evidence, and requesting a conviction for the attempted coup. Now Bolsonaro's legal teams must present their final arguments on the case. The Supreme Court has called an extraordinary session to review Moraes's decision beginning today and extending through Monday. Cash According to Moraes' move on Friday, the former president worked with Eduardo Bolsonaro to stop the functioning of the Supreme Court 'through hostile acts stemming from spurious and criminal negotiations, with clear obstruction of justice and the evident intent to coerce this court in its rulings.' Moraes banned Bolsonaro from communicating with his son in Washington. Police found over $14,000 in cash in the former president's home in Brasilia and seized his smartphone, newspaper Folha de reported. It is not the first time that Bolsonaro has been suspected of trying to dodge authorities. Last year, a New York Times investigation reveled that the right-wing leader stayed at the Hungarian embassy in Brasilia for four days after handing his passport over to federal police. Bolsonaro later confirmed his stay at the embassy but denied claims he was seeking refuge. (Updates with Supreme Court decision, market reaction, context throughout.) What the Tough Job Market for New College Grads Says About the Economy How Starbucks' CEO Plans to Tame the Rush-Hour Free-for-All Godzilla Conquered Japan. Now Its Owner Plots a Global Takeover A Rebel Army Is Building a Rare-Earth Empire on China's Border Why Access to Running Water Is a Luxury in Wealthy US Cities ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
