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 citizensfromdoingbusinesswithhim.-Reuters