In a statement published Friday (Dec. 12), the US government removed the name of Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes from the list of persons under the Magnitsky Act.

The name of his wife, lawyer Viviane Barci de Moraes, and the Lex Institute, linked to the justice’s family, were also scrapped.

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The decision was made by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Department of the Treasury.

The Magnitsky Act sanctions were imposed on Justice Alexandre de Moraes by the Donald Trump administration in late July. In September, his wife’s name was also added to the list.

The act

The Magnitsky Act is a tool in US law used to unilaterally punish alleged human rights violators abroad. Among other things, the measure blocks the assets and companies of those targeted by the sanctions in the US.

Among the penalties are the freezing of bank accounts, assets, and holdings within US jurisdiction, as well as a ban on entry into the country.

In applying the sanction to Moraes, the US Department of the Treasury accused Justice Alexandre de Moraes of violating freedom of expression and authorizing “arbitrary arrests,” citing the trial of the attempted coup by Brazilian former President Bolsonaro as well as court decisions against US social media companies.

According to Treasury Secretary Scot Besset, Moraes is responsible for an oppressive campaign of censorship, arbitrary detentions that violate human rights, and politicized prosecutions, “including against former President Jair Bolsonaro.”