The Brazilian Supreme Court has indicted former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for allegedly falsifying his own Covid-19 vaccination data, along with the records of his daughter and several associates. According to police, Bolsonaro tampered with the health ministry database before entering the U.S. in December 2022, after losing his reelection bid. Proof of Covid vaccination was required to enter the United States at the time.
The far-right politician is currently under investigation for various criminal acts, but this is the first time he has been indicted. If found guilty, he could face a lengthy prison sentence
From ABC News:
If convicted for falsifying health data, the 68-year-old politician could spend up to 12 years behind bars or as little as two years, according to legal analyst Zilan Costa. The maximum jail time for a charge of criminal association is four years, he said.
"What Bolsonaro will argue in this case is whether he did insert the data or enable others to do it, or not. And that is plain simple: Either you have the evidence or you don't. It is a very serious crime with a very harsh sentence for those convicted," Costa told The Associated Press.
The article reports that during his presidency, Bolsonaro and his administration turned down multiple opportunities to purchase Covid vaccine doses from Pfizer in 2020. When the governor of Sao Paulo state took action to acquire vaccines from the Chinese manufacturer Sinovac, Bolsonaro publicly denounced the decision, despite the fact that no other vaccine options were accessible at the time.
