BRASILIA: The United States imposed sanctions on Wednesday against a Brazilian Supreme Court judge overseeing the trial of former president Jair Bolsonaro, accusing the judge of authorising arbitrary pre-trial detentions and suppressing freedom of expression.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes has presided over the criminal case against Bolsonaro, who has been charged with plotting a coup to overturn Brazil’s 2022 presidential election.

Also on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing a 50 per cent tariff on Brazilian goods, which he has said was meant to stop the “witch hunt” against his right-wing ally Bolsonaro.

Moraes was sanctioned under the Global Magnitsky Act, which allows the US to impose economic penalties against foreigners it considers to have a record of corruption or human rights abuses.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers last month that Washington was considering sanctions against the judge.

“Alexandre de Moraes has taken it upon himself to be judge and jury in an unlawful witch hunt against US and Brazilian citizens and companies,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

Moraes, he said, “is responsible for an oppressive campaign of censorship, arbitrary detentions that violate human rights, and politicised prosecutions, including against former President Jair Bolsonaro.” The sanctions call for freezing all US assets held by Moraes and prohibit US citizens from doing business with him.

Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2025