In his defense submitted to the Supreme Federal Court (STF), Mauro Cid reaffirms that he did not make a plea bargain under duress.
According to the statement submitted to the Supreme Federal Court (STF), the military officer was always accompanied by his lawyers during depositions and formal acts related to the plea bargain.
247 - Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid's defense team stated to the Supreme Federal Court (STF) that he did not suffer coercion during the plea bargain agreement. According to the statement submitted to the STF, the military officer was always accompanied by his lawyers during the testimonies given to the Federal Police and in the formal acts of the plea bargain.
The lieutenant is a former aide to Jair Bolsonaro (PL). Both were indicted by the Attorney General's Office along with 32 other people in the investigation into the coup plot and submitted their statements to the Supreme Court. Nine other people indicted by the Attorney General's Office also submitted their defenses to the Supreme Court. Among them are colonels and former Bolsonaro ministers such as Augusto Heleno (former head of the Institutional Security Office), Alexandre Ramagem (PL-RJ deputy and former director of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency - ABIN), and Paulo Sérgio de Oliveira (Defense).
According to G1 PortalMauro Cid's defense team anticipated that they will argue for the military officer's "summary acquittal" throughout the process. This term is applied when the Judiciary acquits the defendant of all charges against him before the trial, as stipulated in the Brazilian Code of Criminal Procedure. "The defense would never admit any kind of coercion or inducement in the provision of information by Mauro Cid," the lawyers wrote.
The military officer's defense also requested that, should the Supreme Federal Court accept the charges, the officer be acquitted of three crimes: criminal organization, coup d'état, and participation in the attempted violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law. The account was published in... column by Igor Gadelha.
Arrested in March 2024 after leaked audio recordings allegedly in which he made verbal attacks against the Federal Police and the Supreme Federal Court (STF), Mauro Cid was released in May of the same year by order of Minister Alexandre de Moraes. He must continue to comply with restrictions, such as wearing an electronic ankle monitor and being prohibited from communicating with other individuals under investigation.
Investigations also indicated that Mauro Cid could reveal important details from other investigations, such as fraud involving vaccination cards and the illegal sale of jewelry. Bolsonaro was indicted by the Federal Police in these two inquiries and in the investigation of the coup plot. At the Attorney General's Office, he was denounced in the coup inquiry and may be the target of new accusations.
