U.S. President Donald Trump, acting through Secretary of State Marco Rubio, announced on Wednesday that Justice Moraes has been sanctioned under the Global Magnitsky Act for what the administration describes as a politically motivated clampdown on dissent. The judge allegedly abused his office by orchestrating secret orders to suppress free speech and detain individuals arbitrarily.
“@POTUS and @USTreasury have sanctioned Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes under the Global Magnitsky sanctions program for serious human rights abuses,” Mr. Rubio posted on social media.
In a direct message to judicial officials worldwide, including in Nigeria, Rubio declared: “Let this be a warning to those who would trample on the fundamental rights of their countrymen, judicial robes cannot protect you.”
The Global Magnitsky Act empowers the U.S. government to impose financial and travel restrictions on individuals involved in gross human rights violations or corruption. The legislation is named after Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian tax attorney who was arrested, tortured, and died in custody after exposing government corruption in 2009.
According to the U.S. Department of State, Moraes used his authority “to silence political critics through the issuance of secret orders compelling online platforms, including U.S. social media companies, to ban the accounts of individuals for posting protected speech.” The department further accused him of overseeing arbitrary detentions that blatantly violated fair trial guarantees.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the Wednesday’s announcement signalled a more aggressive stance by the Trump administration to hold judicial actors around the globe accountable, with Nigerian officials now clearly on notice.
