Friday 19 / April / 2024
Rio De Jenerio: A federal judge in Brazil acquitted a man who stabbed the country's President Jair Bolsanoro last year, state media confirmed.
Judge Bruno Savino of the 3rd Federal Court of Justice in the city of Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, acquitted Adelio Bispo de Oliveira for his knife attack on Bolsonaro on the grounds the defendant suffered from a mental illness and could not be criminally punished for his actions.
The judge ruled the defendant be hospitalised in an asylum for an indefinite period. He also ruled Oliveira remain at the Federal Maximum Security Penitentiary in Campo Grande, where has been held since the incident.
The decision was made after the defendant was examined by experts who unanimously agreed he suffered from a delusional disorder.
However, the verdict was denounced by the prosecutor, who claimed the accused put democracy in the country at risk and planned the attack in advance.
Oliveira's defence team however stated that he acted alone and that the attack was "the result of a tormented and possibly unbalanced mind."
Bolsonaro was the frontrunner in the country's 2018 Presidential election and campaigning at the time he was stabbed. Adelio would later tell police he had received "orders from God" to carry out the attack.
The former army paratrooper, who is known for his divisive comments and policies, would go on to win a landslide victory and take office on January 1 2019.
