RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Brazilian Congress on Tuesday overrode more than half of the vetoes made by President Jair Bolsonaro on regulating the power of law enforcement officers.
Out of the 33 presidential vetoes on the bill, 18 were overridden and 15 were maintained.
One of the overridden vetoes foresees prison for law enforcement officers who coerced people who had the right to maintain some secrets into testifying, such as religious leaders honoring a confession or professionals upholding attorney-client or doctor-patient privileges.
Another article foresees a six-month-to-two-year prison sentence for law enforcement officers who prevent a person from meeting with their lawyer without just cause.
In addition, one overridden veto forbids law enforcement officers from pursuing an investigation against someone without motive or someone known to be innocent.
The vetoes maintained by the Congress will be excluded from the law, but those the Congress overrode will be forwarded for the president to sign in two days. If he fails to do so, the president of the senate will be in charge of signing those articles into law.
