THE US Treasury Department announced sanctions against Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Wednesday over alleged suppression of freedom of expression and prosecution of Jair Bolsonaro.

Justice Moraes is overseeing the criminal case against the former Brazilian president, who is accused of masterminding a plot to stay in power despite his 2022 election defeat to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Justice Moraes “is responsible for an oppressive campaign of censorship, arbitrary detentions that violate human rights, and politicised prosecutions — including against former president Jair Bolsonaro.”

The department cited the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which targets perpetrators of human rights abuse and corrupt officials, to justify the sanctions.

The decision orders the freezing of any assets or property Justice Moraes may have in the US.

Brazil’s Supreme Court and the Presidential Palace did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Wednesday’s sanctions follow the US State Department’s announcement of visa restrictions on Brazilian judicial officials, including Justice Moraes, on July 18.

They also come after US President Donald Trump announced a 50 per cent tariff on Brazilian imported goods on July 9.

In a letter announcing the tariff, President Trump explicitly linked the import tax to what he called the “witch hunt” trial of Mr Bolsonaro currently underway in Brazil.

Also on Wednesday, President Trump signed an executive order to implement the 50 per cent tariff announced earlier this month.

Lula called an emergency meeting with some ministers following the day’s announcements, calling Wednesday a “sacred day of sovereignty.”

The president said he would defend “the sovereignty of the Brazilian people in light of the measures announced by the President of the US.”

Human Rights Watch in Brazil said on X the sanctions “are a clear violation of judicial independence, a pillar of democracy.”