The first class of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) resumes on Tuesday (9) the trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and seven other defendants accused of coup attempt by 2022. The voting phase begins today and should be completed by Friday (12). Full coverage and transmission can be accompanied on BandNews TV.
The trial began last week, with the report of the report of Minister Alexandre de Moraes, rapporteur of the criminal action, in addition to the manifestation of the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), favorable to the conviction, and the oral support of the defenses. Now the ministers vote for the future of Bolsonaro and the other accused.
The first vote will be that of the rapporteur, Alexandre de Moraes. Prior to commenting on the merits, Moraes must analyze preliminary issues raised by the defenses, such as requests for nullity of Mauro Cid’s award -winning denunciation, defense curtailment allegations and summary acquittal requests. These questions may be decided immediately or in conjunction with the final analysis.
After the rapporteur, the voting order will continue with the ministers Flávio Dino, Luiz Fux, Cármen Lúcia and, finally, Cristiano Zanin, president of the first class. The decision will be made by a simple majority, ie three of the five votes will be enough to define the conviction or acquittal.
The calendar of sessions foresees meetings this week in four consecutive days: Tuesday (9), from 9am to 12pm and from 14h to 19h; Wednesday (10), only in the morning; Thursday (11), from 9am to 7pm; and Friday (12), also from 9am to 7pm.
Even in case of conviction, the arrest of the defendants will not be automatic. Compliance with the sentence can only occur after the appropriate resources. Among them are the embargoes of declaration, which serve to clarify omissions or contradictions in the judgment, and the infringing embargoes, which can be presented if there is at least one vote for acquittal.
Declaration embargoes, in general, do not change the result of the trial. Infringing embargoes may postpone the execution of the sentence, especially in 4-1 score scenarios. For the case to be sent to the STF plenary, at least two ministers will vote for acquittal, forming a score of 3 to 2.
Accusations against Bolsonaro and his allies include attempted coup d’état, violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law, participation in armed criminal organization, qualified damage and deterioration of listed heritage. All accused deny involvement.
Thus, the next steps of the trial involve the presentation of the votes, the formation of the result and then the examination of any appeals. Only after these steps will the possibility of serving a sentence by the former president and the other defendants.
