BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazilian senators investigating Brazil’s handling of COVID-19 have dropped a recommendation from their draft report that President Jair Bolsonaro be charged with homicide for alleged government errors, Brazilian media reported Wednesday.
Senators leading the congressional probe met late Tuesday to discuss a report prepared by opposition Senator Renan Calheiros and agreed to remove accusations of “homicide” and “genocide,” several newspapers reported.
The draft report still needs to be voted on by the Senate commission and could be vetoed and altered.
Bolsonaro has dismissed the probe as politically motivated. It is highly unlikely that he will face trial on any such charges, which would have to be brought by Brazil’s prosecutor general, whom Bolsonaro appointed.
(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu in Brasilia and Eduardo Simoes in Sao Paulo; Editing by Brad Haynes and Nick Zieminski)
