Lula of Brazil fires deputy chief of intelligence amid spying investigation

Brazil’s President Lula fired the second-in-command of the national intelligence agency and four other leaders.

Authorities are still looking into allegations that the agency, Abin, spied on people who were against the ex-president Jair Bolsonaro.

Alessandro Moretti, a deputy, is accused of giving information to a former boss of Abin named Alexandre Ramagem, who is also a member of the same party as Mr.

Mr Bolsonaro says he and his family are being unfairly treated.

Lula said his government doesn’t tell the federal police what to do.

The scandal started on Thursday when Brazil’s highest court released documents accusing Abin of secretly watching important political and legal figures who spoke out against the former president.

Three Supreme Court judges and a speaker of Brazil’s lower house of Congress were reportedly being spied on illegally.

Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said that the police found evidence that Mr. Bolsonaro’s son Carlos was involved in ordering illegal spying as part of a political group.

The judge allowed police to search Carlos’ home and offices on Monday. Carlos is a city councillor in Rio de Janeiro.

Carlos Bolsonaro’s lawyer did not answer right away when the Associated Press asked for a comment.

Last week, the police looked for evidence in Mr. Ramagem’s office and house. He says he didn’t do anything wrong. This is according to Reuters news agency.

The police think Abin was using a software called FirstMile from Israel to secretly watch people’s mobile phones.

Experienced leftist Lula barely won against Mr. Bolsonaro, a very conservative politician, in a tense presidential election on 30 October 2022.

This new investigation adds to the legal troubles of Mr Bolsonaro, who has been banned from running for office for eight years after questioning Brazil’s electronic voting system without evidence.