Moraes accuses Eduardo of fleeing the law and orders notification of charges by publication

Minister Alexandre de Moraes of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) stated on Monday (29) that federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP) is hindering the notification process regarding the charges filed against him by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR). According to Moraes, Eduardo is out of Brazil to avoid potential judicial accountability, evading the law. The deputy has been living in the United States since the beginning of the year. Therefore, the minister ordered that he be notified via publication. As for the other accused, blogger Paulo Figueiredo, notification will be done through international cooperation, by letter rogatory. Minister Moraes also ruled that the accusations against both should be analyzed separately. The PGR filed a complaint last Monday (22) with the STF against Eduardo and Figueiredo for coercion in a judicial process. The case involves Eduardo’s actions to obstruct the trial on the coup d’état, where his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, was sentenced by the STF to 27 years and 3 months in prison. According to the PGR, Eduardo sought with the Trump administration to impose sanctions and tariffs on Brazil and judiciary officials in retaliation to the judgment. With the complaint, the judicial notification process begins. This procedure is provided by law to ensure that the defendants are aware of the legal action against them, essential to guarantee their right to a full defense. Judicial notification by publication is an exceptional measure that involves posting a notice in official publications like newspapers, legal diaries, or websites to inform the parties about a legal proceeding, safeguarding the principle of full defense. The two accused individuals have 15 days to present their defenses before the Supreme Court decides whether to accept the charges and open a criminal case against them. In his ruling on Monday (29), Moraes emphasized that Eduardo is abroad, precisely as stated in the complaint, to ‘persist in criminal activities and evade potential judicial accountability, thus avoiding the application of criminal law.’ ‘Such fact is expressly confessed in the posts made by the accused on social media,’ the minister points out. Furthermore, Moraes explains that the measure was taken because the deputy still maintains an operational office in the Chamber of Deputies and an address in Brasília where his family resides. In other words, he could acknowledge the notification digitally if he wanted to. ‘Thus, there is no doubt that the accused, despite maintaining his domicile in national territory, is creating obstacles to being notified, allowing, according to §2 of art. 4 of Law 8.038/90, his citation by publication.