rio de janeiro
AP
—
A panel of Brazilian Supreme Court judges on Tuesday sentenced a military official and a federal police officer to up to 24 years in prison after finding them guilty of attempting a coup and plotting to kill President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and others.
In September, a Supreme Court panel sentenced former President Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years and three months in prison for leading a criminal organization that tried to overturn the 2022 general election in which Lula defeated Bolsonaro. At the time, the commission also ruled on other close allies the judge said formed part of a “core group.”
On Tuesday, the commission found Mr. Lula guilty of planning acts of gang violence, including plotting to kill Vice President Gerard Alcumin and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
Of the 10 defendants who are part of this group, nine are senior military personnel and one is an employee of the federal police.
The four judicial committees unanimously convicted the nine men and acquitted the retired general for lack of evidence.
Seven of them were found guilty of attempting to violently overthrow the democratic rule of law, attempting a coup d’état, participating in an armed criminal organization, and degrading and damaging designated heritage sites.
The two were convicted of the less serious crime of publicly inciting hostility between criminal associations and the military and constitutional authorities.
The sentences ranged from 1 year and 11 months to 24 years, and the four defendants were sentenced to more than 20 years in prison.
In casting his vote, Judge Flavio Dino referred to Brazil’s military dictatorship (1964-1985) and said: “Once again, Brazil has drifted into a dark institutional ditch and almost fell into it due to the irresponsibility and lack of patriotism of some people.”
“It wasn’t just a walk in the park. It was a coup d’etat to arrest and kill people and strip them of their constitution, their civil rights, their freedom of the press. And these are not speculations. It was written in the blueprints that were seized from these various public institutions,” he added.
Last week, Attorney General Paulo Gonet pointed to evidence that federal police officers infiltrated the then-president-elect’s security team to enable the group’s plans for violence.
Moraes, who is overseeing the broader coup effort, said the plan stalled due to a lack of support from army commanders.
Those found guilty will only begin serving their sentences after their appeals are completed.
The same goes for Bolsonaro, who has been under house arrest since August.
The commission recently rejected an appeal filed by the former president’s legal team, but could file a new one this week.
Bolsonaro’s trial made global headlines. US President Donald Trump has ordered a 50% tariff on imports from Brazil, citing part of the Bolsonaro case and calling it a “witch hunt.”
This caused a sharp deterioration in relations between the United States and Brazil, which experts described as the lowest point in the two countries’ more than 200-year history.
Relationships have improved. Lula and Trump spoke by phone and met at the ASEAN summit in Malaysia last month.
