BRASILIA, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's attorney general's office on Thursday asked federal police and prosecutors to investigate whether U.S. government funds were used to finance Brazilian organizations critical of the country's Supreme Court.
Attorney General Jorge Messias submitted the request to Federal Police Director-General Andrei Rodrigues and Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet Branco, asking them to identify those responsible for any funding, its recipients and whether the money was used to influence Brazil's political and institutional debate.
The move followed a report by British newspaper The Guardian that the U.S. government had earmarked 1 million U.S. dollars for a project called "Countering Lawfare and Censorship in Brazil." The project would support civil society groups opposing what its backers describe as "judicial overreach" and "censorship" by Brazil's Supreme Court.
The funding would come from the U.S. State Department's Human Rights and Democracy Fund, which The Guardian report said provides money to dozens of projects, citing official documents.
The attorney general's office said possible foreign funding of initiatives targeting Brazilian institutions warranted an investigation into potential outside interference in the country's internal affairs.
Messias stressed that disagreements between governments were a normal part of international relations, but foreign political interests should not interfere with the functioning of Brazil's institutions. ■
