The Supreme Federal Court (STF) begins this Monday (9), at 2 p.m., the interrogations of the defendants in nucleus 1 of the supposed coup plot that occurred during Jair Bolsonaro’s government.
The depositions will take place over the next five days in the First Chamber’s room at the Court and will be broadcast live on TV Justiça.
From June 9 to 13, Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the rapporteur for the criminal case, will question former President Jair Bolsonaro, General Braga Netto, and six other defendants accused of participating in the “crucial nucleus” of a plot to prevent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from taking office after the 2022 election results.
This Monday, Army Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid, Bolsonaro’s former aide-de-camp and a cooperating witness in the investigations, will be the first to testify.
On the following days, starting at 9 a.m., the other defendants will be called, in alphabetical order, to be questioned by Moraes.
During the hearings, the Attorney General of the Republic, Paulo Gonet, and the defenses of the other accused will also be able to ask questions of the defendants.
The only defendant who will testify via videoconference is General Braga Netto. Bolsonaro’s running mate in 2022, the reserve military officer has been in prison since December last year on charges of obstructing the investigation into the attempted coup d’état and obtaining details of Mauro Cid’s plea deal.
Check the order of the depositions:
• Mauro Cid, cooperating witness and former aide-de-camp to Bolsonaro;
• Alexandre Ramagem, former director of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin);
• Almir Garnier, former Navy commander;
• Anderson Torres, former Justice Minister and former Secretary of Public Security for the Federal District;
• Augusto Heleno, former head of the Institutional Security Office;
• Jair Bolsonaro, former President of the Republic;
• Paulo Sérgio Nogueira, former Defense Minister;
• Walter Braga Netto.
The defendants are charged with armed criminal organization, attempted violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law, coup d’état, qualified damage by violence and serious threat, and deterioration of listed heritage.
The interrogation of the defendants is one of the final stages of the criminal case. The expectation is that the trial deciding on the conviction or acquittal of the former president and the other defendants will take place in the second half of this year. In case of conviction, the sentences exceed 30 years in prison.
As defendants, the accused may refuse to answer questions that could incriminate them. The Constitution guarantees investigated individuals the right not to produce evidence against themselves.
Source: Agência Brasil