Brazil senators drop call for COVID-19 homicide charge against Bolsonaro

FILE PHOTO: Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro gestures during the ceremony for the Modernization of Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil October 7, 2021. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino

BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazilian senators investigating the handling of the country's COVID-19 outbreak have dropped a recommendation from their draft report that President Jair Bolsonaro be charged with genocide and homicide, instead accusing him of "crimes against humanity."

Senators leading the congressional probe met late on Tuesday to discuss a report prepared by opposition Senator Renan Calheiros, and agreeing to remove the homicide and genocide accusations due to what one senator called technical reasons.