SAO PAULO (AP) — A panel of Brazil’s Supreme Courtroom justices began proceedings on Tuesday morning to find out whether or not federal officers, retired navy officers and an aide of former President Jair Bolsonaro may also stand trial for allegedly trying to stage a coup.
Final month, the panel unanimously accepted prices in opposition to Bolsonaro and 7 shut allies over an alleged try to remain in workplace after his 2022 election defeat to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and ordered him to face trial.
When Prosecutor-Common Paulo Gonet accused Bolsonaro and 33 others of trying a coup, he divided them into 5 completely different teams, based mostly on their roles and positions within the alleged plot.
Bolsonaro and his closest allies, together with working mate Gen. Braga Netto, have been positioned within the “core group,” in response to the costs. Now, the Supreme Courtroom panel will evaluation prices in opposition to the second group, which Gonet stated held managerial roles.
The second group contains former presidential overseas affairs adviser Filipe Martins, retired Gen. Mario Fernandes, former Federal Freeway Police director Silvinei Vasques, former presidential aide Col. Marcelo Câmara and two federal cops, Fernando Oliveira and Marilia Alencar.
These people coordinated actions deliberate by the core group, Gonet stated within the indictment. These included mobilizing cops to help the alleged coup, monitoring authorities and drafting a doc supposed to justify a state of exemption within the nation.
If a majority votes in favor, the accused will change into defendants in a prison case.
Bolsonaro and his allies have repeatedly denied wrongdoing. The previous president says that he’s being politically persecuted. He has been hospitalized for greater than per week, recovering from bowel surgical procedure. On Monday, from his hospital mattress in Brasilia, he gave an interview to native tv community SBT and stated that his trial wasn’t technical, however political.
Underneath Brazilian legislation, a coup conviction alone carries a sentence of as much as 12 years, however when mixed with the opposite prices, it might lead to a sentence of a long time behind bars. The previous president is predicted to stand trial in the next few months at Brazil’s Supreme Courtroom.
___
Observe AP’s protection of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
