The First Panel of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) resumes on Tuesday (9) the trial of core 1 of the coup plot, formed by former President Jair Bolsonaro and seven other allies.
The trial began last week, when the defenses of the former president and the other defendants presented their arguments, in addition to the statement from the Attorney General of the Republic, Paulo Gonet, who is in favor of convicting all the defendants.
This week, the panel will begin voting, which could sentence Bolsonaro and the other defendants to more than 30 years in prison.
Sessions on September 9, 10, 11, and 12 have been reserved to finalize the trial.
Weighing against the accused is their alleged participation in drafting the “Green and Yellow Dagger” plan, which involved plotting the kidnapping and murder of Minister Alexandre de Moraes, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Vice President Geraldo Alckmin.
The Attorney General’s Office indictment also includes the production of the so-called “coup minute,” a document that Jair Bolsonaro was aware of and which would be used to decree states of defense and siege in the country to try to overturn the 2022 election results and prevent Lula’s inauguration. The indictment also mentions the alleged involvement of the accused in the January 8, 2023, coup acts.
Who are the defendants?
• Jair Bolsonaro – former President of the Republic;
• Alexandre Ramagem – former director of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin);
• Almir Garnier – former Navy commander;
• Anderson Torres – former Minister of Justice and former Secretary of Public Security for the Federal District;
• Augusto Heleno – former Minister of the Institutional Security Office (GSI);
• Paulo Sérgio Nogueira – former Minister of Defense;
• Walter Braga Netto – former Bolsonaro minister and 2022 running mate candidate;
• Mauro Cid – former aide-de-camp to Bolsonaro.
Next steps
On Tuesday (9), at 9 a.m., the session will be opened by the president of the First Panel, Minister Cristiano Zanin. Then, the floor will be given to the rapporteur, Minister Alexandre de Moraes, who will vote first.
In his statement, Moraes will address preliminary issues raised by the defenses of Bolsonaro and the other defendants, such as requests to nullify Mauro Cid’s plea deal—former aide-de-camp and one of the defendants—allegations of denial of defense rights, requests to remove the case from the STF, as well as requests for acquittal.
Moraes may ask the panel to deliberate immediately on the preliminary issues or leave the analysis of these matters for joint voting with the merits. After addressing the preliminary issues, Moraes will rule on the merits of the case, that is, whether to convict or acquit the accused and the length of the sentence.
Voting sequence
After the rapporteur’s vote, the other panel members will cast their votes in the following order:
• Flávio Dino;
• Luiz Fux;
• Cármen Lúcia;
• Cristiano Zanin.
A majority for conviction or acquittal will be achieved with three out of the five votes on the panel. Prison Any prison sentences for convicted defendants will not occur automatically after the trial and can only be enforced after analyzing appeals against the conviction.
Appeals
In case of conviction with one vote in favor of acquittal, Bolsonaro and the other defendants will have the right to one more appeal to avoid prison, also to be analyzed by the First Panel. This condition can be achieved with a score of 4 to 1, for example. With the publication of the ruling with the potentially unfavorable score, the defenses may file so-called clarificatory embargos, an appeal aimed at clarifying omissions and contradictions in the final trial text. Generally, this type of appeal does not have the power to reverse the trial outcome and is usually rejected.
To have the case tried again and taken to the full court, the accused need to obtain at least two votes for acquittal, that is, a minimum score of 3 to 2.
Source: Agência Brasil