(Reuters) -The United States imposed sanctions on Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Wednesday, accusing him of authorizing arbitrary pre-trial detentions and suppressing freedom of expression.
Moraes oversees the criminal case against former President Jair Bolsonaro, who has been charged with plotting a coup. U.S. President Donald Trump has tied new tariffs on Brazil to what he called a “witch hunt” against his right-wing ally.
The announcement by the U.S. Treasury Department follows Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statement in June saying that Washington was considering sanctioning the judge.
Moraes was sanctioned under the Global Magnitsky Act, which allows the U.S. to impose economic penalties against foreigners it considers to have a record of corruption or human rights abuses.
“Moraes has investigated, prosecuted, and suppressed those who have engaged in speech that is protected under the U.S. Constitution, repeatedly subjecting victims to long preventive detentions without bringing charges,” the Treasury Department said in a statement.
Moraes recently ordered Bolsonaro to wear an ankle bracelet and stop using social media over allegations he courted the interference from Trump.
(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
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