Brazil police investigate Bolsonaro's stay in February at Hungary embassy

According to a person with knowledge of the situation on Tuesday, Brazilian authorities are looking into why former president Jair Bolsonaro spent two nights in the Hungarian embassy in Brasilia last month, just after his passport was confiscated in connection with an alleged military coup plan.

The source, who requested anonymity, told Reuters that the police report on the investigation will be sent to Justice Alexandre de Moraes of the Supreme Court. Justice de Moraes ordered the investigation into a purported plot for a military takeover following Bolsonaro’s defeat in October 2022 by leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Although Bolsonaro has denied any role in a conspiracy, earlier Brazilian month, in depositions to the police, former army and air force officers said that Bolsonaro had requested them to join plans for a coup. They claimed they wouldn’t join.

Based on security camera footage that showed him entering the diplomatic enclave, the New York Times first revealed Bolsonaro’s visit in the Hungarian embassy between February 12 and 14.

Police had confiscated Bolsonaro’s passport on February 8 and charged him with attempting to imprison Moraes, pressuring military commanders to join a coup, and altering a draft order to reverse the outcome of the 2022 election.

Moraes has set a deadline of Wednesday for Bolsonaro to explain to the top court the purpose of his stay, court officials said.

Bolsonaro’s lawyer, Fabio Wajngarten, said on social media on Monday evening that the ex-president was at the embassy “to maintain contact with officials of the friendly country” and “get updates on the political landscape of both nations”.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a nationalist who has been in power for 14 years, is a political ally of the far-right Bolsonaro. The Hungarian embassy in Brasilia did not reply to a Reuters request for comment.

Since leaving power, Bolsonaro has maintained close relations with Orban, whom he called his “brother” during a 2022 visit to Budapest. The two met this year during the inauguration of Argentina’s right-wing President Javier Milei.

Last year a Brazilian court ruled that Bolsonaro is ineligible for political office until 2030 for spreading electoral misinformation during the 2022 election.

He is also facing potential criminal charges for fraud related to his COVID-19 vaccination card.