Top court hears first group of defendants in coup plot case
The Brazilian Supreme Court on Monday (Jun. 9) begins the questioning of the defendants in the so-called Nucleus 1 of the coup plot that took place during former President Jair Bolsonaro’s government.
The testimonies will be heard over the next five days and will be broadcast live on TV Justiça.
From June 9 to 13, Justice Alexandre de Moraes, rapporteur in the criminal case, will question former President Jair Bolsonaro, General Braga Netto, and six other individuals accused of being in the main group behind a plot to prevent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from taking office after the results of the 2022 elections.
On Monday, Army Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid, Bolsonaro’s former aide-de-camp and a whistleblower in the investigations, will be the first to testify.
On the following days, starting at 9 am, the other defendants will be called in alphabetical order to be questioned by Justice Moraes.
During the hearings, Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet and the defenses of the other defendants will also be able to ask questions to the accused.
The only defendant to testify by video will be General Braga Netto. Bolsonaro’s vice-presidential running mate in 2022, the reserve military officer has been in prison since December last year on charges of obstructing the probes into the attempted coup d’état and obtaining details of Mauro Cid’s plea bargain.
The testimonies will be heard in the following order:
- Mauro Cid, whistleblower and former aide to Bolsonaro;
- Alexandre Ramagem, former director of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency;
- Almir Garnier, former commander of the Navy;
- Anderson Torres, former minister of justice and former secretary of security for the Federal District;
- Augusto Heleno, former head of the Institutional Security Cabinet;
- Jair Bolsonaro, former president of Brazil;
- Paulo Sérgio Nogueira, former minister of defense;
- and Walter Braga Netto.
They are charged with the crimes of armed criminal organization, attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, coup d’état, aggravated damage by violence and serious threat, and damaging heritage.
The questioning of the defendants is one of the last stages of the criminal proceedings. The trial that will decide whether to convict or acquit the former president and the other defendants should take place later this year. If convicted, the sentences will exceed 30 years in prison.
Because they are facing trial, the accused can refuse to answer questions that could incriminate them. The Brazilian Constitution guarantees those under investigation the right not to produce evidence against themselves.
