The former president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, denied before the Federal Police his participation in an alleged fraud in the COVID-19 vaccination booklets at the Ministry of Health and reaffirmed that he “never got vaccinated.” During his appearance, which lasted almost three hours, Bolsonaro claimed to be unaware of any initiative related to the falsification, insertion, or adulteration of his and his daughter’s vaccination booklet, as reported by Fábio Wajngarten, former secretary of communication and current advisor to Bolsonaro, via Twitter.
The former president also highlighted that his government acquired more than 500 million doses of vaccines and respected the freedom of each Brazilian to decide whether to be immunized, as well as the autonomy of doctors.
Bolsonaro was summoned to testify on May 3, the same day that the police conducted a raid on his residence in Brasilia. However, his defense argued that he would not appear because his lawyers had not had access to the case reports.
During the police operation, Bolsonaro’s former aide, Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid Barbosa, and two members of his security team, Max Guilherme and Sergio Cordeiro, were arrested. According to the Federal Police, the detainees are suspected of entering false information into the Ministry of Health’s system to obtain vaccination certificates and be able to travel to the United States between November 2021 and December 2022.
In addition, Bolsonaro was also questioned by the police in relation to the attacks on the headquarters of the three branches of government in Brasilia. He is being investigated for allegedly inciting his supporters to violently invade institutions. According to Wajngarten, the former president affirmed that he did not lead or participate in any act of insurrection or subversion against the rule of law.