Brazil’s Supreme Court orders investigation into Bolsonaro for linking COVID-19 vaccine to AIDS

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro attends the signing ceremony of the decree on gas support in Brasilia, Brazil December 2, 2021. REUTERS / Adriano Machado

December 4, 2021

By Maria Carolina Marcello

BRASILIA (Reuters) – A Brazilian Supreme Court judge on Friday asked President Jair Bolsonaro to open an investigation for saying in a live broadcast on multiple social media platforms in October that vaccines Asking for COVID-19 may increase your risk of contracting AIDS.

Bolsonaro, who has refused to take the vaccine, has been temporarily suspended from Facebook and YouTube following his comments.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes’ decision came in response to a request from a Senate investigative committee, known in Portuguese as the CPI, that in October Bolsonaro found that in October, Bolsonaro has committed nine crimes related to his widely criticized handling of the coronavirus pandemic, including crimes against humanity. .

According to the United Nations Joint Program on HIV and AIDS, the COVID-19 vaccine that has been approved by health regulators is safe for most people, including people living with HIV, The virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is called AIDS.

CPI turned over its nearly 1,300-page report to the Brazilian prosecutor general’s (PGR) office in October, though few expect any significant action by the current nation’s top prosecutor to have been. Bolsonaro appointed.

In fact, Moraes’ decision implies that he will closely monitor the PGR investigation, as the Supreme Court does not conduct its own investigations.

“For judicial oversight to be carried out effectively and comprehensively, it is indispensable that documents be produced showing the status of the investigation in question,” Moraes said.

(Reporting by Maria Carolina Marcello; Writing by Gram Slattery; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)