International
Federal Police Probe Deadly Blasts At Supreme Court Plaza In Brasilia
Brazilian federal police are investigating after two explosions erupted near the Federal Supreme Court (STF) in the capital, Brasilia, leaving at least one person dead. The blasts prompted the immediate evacuation of the court building, with thick smoke and flames visible from above.
“Two loud bangs were heard at the end of the [Supreme Court] session on Wednesday, and the ministers were safely escorted from the building,” the court said in a statement.
EDITOR’S PICKS
- Electricity Meter Costs Rise Again As Deregulation Takes Effect
- Biden, Harris Set To Congratulate Trump On Presidential Win
- Thousands Of ‘Trained’ Combatants Ready To Fight Israel – Hezbollah Chief
In response, the federal police dispatched a rapid intervention unit and a bomb squad to Brasilia’s Three Powers Plaza to secure the area and assess the situation. A formal inquiry will be launched to investigate the incident, according to police.
Local reports indicate that the explosions occurred near the Supreme Court and along an adjacent street where a parked car was observed emitting smoke from its trunk prior to the second blast near the court’s entrance.
No motive or suspect has been identified, but Federal District Vice-Governor Celina Leao noted that one explosion happened just as an unidentified individual approached the Supreme Court’s doors. She confirmed that this individual is believed to be the fatality reported in the incident.
“A citizen approached the Supreme Court, where he tried to enter inside the building but couldn’t proceed. And then the explosion happened at the door,” Leao told the media in a press conference.
In the aftermath of the incident, the head of the Supreme Court, Luis Roberto Barroso, held a telephone call with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the general director of the federal police and leaders in the Federal District’s government, according to the court’s press release.
Other government officials have voiced their concern and alarm to the press.
“I lament that someone has died,” the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, told CNN Brasil. “Obviously, we express all our emotions, our solidarity. We mourn, without knowing any of the circumstances.”
The Three Powers Plaza is the seat of Brazil’s federal government: It contains the presidential palace, buildings for both chambers of Congress and the Supreme Court.
The Chamber of Deputies, which had been in session during the explosions, announced it would suspend its activities until security could be restored.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Brazil-based journalist Monica Yanakiew noted that the explosions happened days before a major international conference for the Group of 20 (G20) economic forum in the city of Rio de Janeiro later this month.
“It’s happening just a while before Brazil is about to host the G20 summit with 55 delegations from 40 different countries and 15 international organizations,” Yanakiew said. “People are worried about that because of the timing.”
She also pointed out that the architecture of the Three Powers Plaza makes it particularly vulnerable.
“In Brasilia, the geography has it that the Supreme Court, National Congress and the presidential palace, they’re all glass buildings, which are one next to the other. Any explosion there can be very damaging,” Yanakiew explained.
The Three Powers Plaza has also been the target of political violence in recent years. On January 8, 2023, for instance, thousands of protesters descended on the square, ransacking the government buildings and clashing with law enforcement.
The riot was largely seen as an attack on democracy, as it came just days after the inauguration of President Lula. He described the incident as a “coup” and blamed his predecessor, the far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro, for spreading false claims of election interference before his defeat.
The Supreme Court itself has been the target of backlash since it opened an investigation into Bolsonaro and his allies for their role in the 2023 riot.
FURTHER READING
- Hezbollah Launches 120 Projectiles From Lebanon Into Israel
- Full List of Chief of Army Staff Who Died in Office
- ECOWAS Court Partners ICRC To Domesticate International Humanitarian Law
Last year, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) – Brazil’s highest electoral authority – barred Bolsonaro from holding public office until 2030 for abuses of power while president.
Supporters of the far-right former president, however, have directed their ire at figures like Alexandre de Moraes, a Supreme Court justice who also was head of the Superior Electoral Court until June of this year.
De Moraes has spearheaded inquiries into the 2023 attack on the Three Powers Plaza and called for the suspension of the social media company X after it failed to comply with court orders. That suspension has since been lifted.
But at a protest billed as a free speech rally this past September, Bolsonaro accused de Moraes of political bias and overstepping his authority.
“I hope that the Federal Senate puts the brakes on Alexandre de Moraes, this dictator who does more harm to Brazil than Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva himself,” he told the crowd.
Click here to watch our video of the week:
Advertise or Publish a Story on EkoHot Blog:
Kindly contact us at [email protected]. Breaking stories should be sent to the above email and substantiated with pictorial evidence.
Citizen journalists will receive a token as data incentive.
Call or Whatsapp: 0803 561 7233, 0703 414 5611
