Bolsonaro could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted in international court

President was the target of legal action for crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC)

President Jair Bolsonaro (without a party) could be sentenced to up to 30 years in prison if the International Criminal Court (ICC) understands that he committed a crime against humanity by creating public confusion about the new coronavirus.

The president was the target of representatives of the Brazilian Association of Jurists for Democracy (ABDJ) to the court, on Thursday (April 3), for actions and speeches that put the Brazilian population at risk in the midst of the pandemic.

“We have gathered a series of information demonstrating that Jair Bolsonaro's actions fall into this criminal type, putting the health of the Brazilian population at serious risk. The prosecutor will assess whether it is the case to proceed and turn this representation into a complaint,” explains lawyer Nuredin Ahmad Allan, a member of the ABJD National Executive.

According to the lawyer, international representation was necessary because all legal alternatives within the country were exhausted.

 “In the case of Jair Bolsonaro, five regional prosecutors presented a memo to [Attorney General] Augusto Aras, asking him to recommend to the President that he adopt and verbalize official guidelines from WHO and the Ministry of Health.

That is, that he stop doing what he was doing. The position of Aras, which is the only one that can carry out any type of procedure against the president, was to file the request,” said Allan.

There is no forecast of the Brazilian President's trial by the ICC. In case of conviction, the arrest is made within the country. “It usually takes time, precisely because it is an international court. When concrete cases from other countries go, the care is very great, because the court does not know the reality of all situations,” emphasizes the lawyer.