Pedro Serrano: "The time has come for Bolsonaro's preventive detention."
"There are very clear grounds for ordering the arrest. That should also apply to Bolsonaro's son, Eduardo Bolsonaro," says the legal expert.
247 - Brazilian jurist and professor of Constitutional Law Pedro Serrano assessed that there are clear grounds for the Supreme Federal Court to order the preventive detention of Jair Bolsonaro. According to him, the evidence already gathered in the investigation reveals both the breach of precautionary measures and atypical financial transactions, sufficient to justify such an extreme measure. "There are very clear grounds to order his arrest. It should also be ordered for Bolsonaro's son, Eduardo Bolsonaro," he stated.
Serrano highlighted that the former president's defense is attempting to justify the possibility of fleeing to Argentina and downplaying the violations of the restrictions imposed by Minister Alexandre de Moraes. However, he stressed that any Brazilian citizen in similar circumstances would already be imprisoned. He also reminded that a potentially delicate health condition does not eliminate the need for the judicial measure. “If he truly has poor health, as alleged, a medical board must be appointed. If he is not fit for it, then house arrest. But house arrest is not freedom: it's as if he were imprisoned at home, under monitoring,” he explained.
The legal expert also drew attention to the financial transactions identified by COAF (Council for Financial Activities Control), which indicated R$ 44 million circulating in Bolsonaro's accounts since March 2023. According to Serrano, the case demands a rigorous investigation by the Federal Police. "It's not normal for a former Army captain, a former president of the Republic, to move this amount of money. This needs to be thoroughly investigated. It's a legal duty of the Federal Police, not an option," he warned.
When commenting on external political and economic pressures, especially from the United States, Serrano categorically rejected any attempt to subject Supreme Court decisions to foreign jurisdictions. For him, this would mean violating national sovereignty. "Submitting the decision of our Supreme Court to another country is to dissolve the Brazilian state. That would be a colonial attitude," he stated.
In his assessment, Brazil is experiencing an exceptional situation that demands equally firm responses. “Preventive detention is an extreme measure, but we are facing an extreme case. Bolsonaro has affronted the country and undermined our institutions. From a technical point of view, I have no doubt that the correct course of action would be to imprison him,” concluded the jurist. Watch:
