Coup trial: military leadership predicts conviction of all military personnel in the Supreme Court.
The expectation is that none of the accused, including retired generals, will be acquitted by the Supreme Court.
247 - The top brass of the Armed Forces believes there is no chance of acquittal for the military personnel who will be tried alongside Jair Bolsonaro (PL) in the trial concerning the attempted coup d'état after the 2022 elections, reports Bela Megale of the newspaper. The Globe.
Starting this Tuesday (2), the Supreme Federal Court (STF) begins the analysis of the so-called “crucial core”, which brings together seven defendants — among them the reserve generals Walter Braga Netto, Augusto Heleno and Paulo Sérgio Nogueira, in addition to Admiral Almir Garnier Santos. For the military officers interviewed by the report, the evidence gathered by the Federal Police and the formal charges filed by the Attorney General's Office (PGR) make conviction practically inevitable.
Serious charges and anticipated penalties
All members of this first group are charged with crimes such as attempted violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law, attempted coup d'état, armed criminal organization, aggravated damage by violence against federal property, and deterioration of listed heritage sites.
The expectation is that the Supreme Federal Court (STF) will determine, in case of conviction, that sentences must begin in a closed regime, with the possibility of later progression to house arrest. The only doubt within the military concerns the retired general and former Minister of the Institutional Security Cabinet (GSI), Augusto Heleno, 77, who may benefit from precautionary measures due to his advanced age.
Official stance and its repercussions in the barracks.
Even in the face of this adverse scenario, the watchword among current commanders is that the judgment rests exclusively with the Supreme Court and should not involve the military institution as a whole. The strategy is to reinforce the separation between the accused and the Armed Forces, in an effort to preserve the institution's image.
Nevertheless, there is apprehension about the potential repercussions of the process within the military, especially given the visibility and political weight of the case. On the eve of the trial, military commanders sought dialogue with political leaders to assess the atmosphere and gauge the impact of the opening of the trial in the Supreme Court.
