Brazil’s Minister of Justice, Flávio Dino, said on Friday that his predecessor in office, Anderson Torres, has until Monday to appear before the Federal Police, otherwise the government does not rule out the possibility of activating an extradition request to bring him back from the United States.
Torres, Jair Bolsonaro’s last Minister of Justice, has a warrant for his arrest after the coup riots of January 8. As the person in charge of security in Brasilia, he would have committed a crime of negligence in the management of the violent protests, as well as collusion with the assailants that day.
The warnings from the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva come four days after the Supreme Court ordered his return from the United States, where he is on vacation. Although Torres assured that he would make himself available to the authorities as soon as possible, nothing is known about his return.
«In the event that next week his appearance is not confirmed, it is clear that through the mechanisms of international legal cooperation, we will activate the procedures to carry out the extradition,» said Dino in comments reported by ‘O Globo’.
As part of the arrest warrant for Torres, the Federal Police carried out a search on Tuesday at his home in Brasilia, where they found, among other documents, the draft of a presidential decree to intervene in the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) and torpedo the outcome of the elections.
At an event held in Brasilia with police officers who participated in the operation to arrest the bolsonarista mob that took part in the January 8 attacks, Minister Dino emphasized that «the Constitution won» and called on the government’s political rivals to turn the page and prepare for the 2026 elections.
«For God’s sake, the 2022 elections are over. Really, understand this and be ready for the next ones. There will be another one in 2026. If we lose in 2026, we will democratically respect the result, as we did in 2018,» he has said.
The Justice Minister also responded to criticism from a sector of Bolsonarism that has been questioning the numerous arrests after Sunday’s assaults, stressing that pretending to depose a legitimately elected government and restrict constitutional powers is a crime.
Finally, Dino confirmed the recovery of a replica of the 1988 Constitution that was stolen during the attack on the Supreme Court headquarters — which will be returned this Friday to the president of the court, Rosa Weber — and lamented that «millions of reais» in damages the attacks have cost the Brazilian people.
«How many millions will be destined to repair the material damages? Ten million reais, fifteen million? We don’t know for sure, only that this money could have a better destination», he said.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
