Moraes maintains arrest of military officer suspected of planning Lula's death

Felipe Pontes - Reporter for Agência Brasil

Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), denied this Thursday (6) the request for release made by the defense of Lieutenant Colonel Rafael Martins de Oliveira. He is one of the officers of the Army's special forces – the so-called “black kids” – suspected of planning the death of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Moraes rejected the arguments of attorney Felipe de Moraes Pinheiro, who denies any involvement by his client in the case. The defense attorney had requested that pretrial detention be replaced by other precautionary measures, arguing that there was no "solid and robust evidence capable of supporting a future conviction."

Oliveira was arrested on November 19, as part of Operation Tempus Veritatis, in which the Federal Police investigated the existence of a plot involving military and civilians to carry out a coup d'état at the end of former President Jair Bolsonaro's government, in 2022. At the moment, the lieutenant colonel is in custody in Niterói (RJ), in an Army installation.

According to investigations, Oliveira allegedly provided a telephone line to be used in the execution of Lula's assassination. The officer also allegedly provided consultancy services, advising on procedures to ensure the plan's success. Vice President Geraldo Alckmin was also a target.

In addition to Oliveira, other black kids were also preventively arrested in the case, including Lieutenant Colonel Hélio Ferreira Lima, who was also kept in prison by Moraes this Wednesday (5), although he had his Transfer to Manaus authorized by the minister..

According to a Federal Police report, the murders of Lula, Alckmin and Alexandre de Moraes himself were part of a broader plan, the objective of which was to keep Bolsonaro in power after he was defeated in the 2022 presidential race.

Back in November of last year, the Bolsonaro himself and 36 other people were indicted by the Federal Police. for their participation in the coup plot, among them Lieutenant Colonel Rafael Martins de Oliveira.  

To support Rafael Martins de Oliveira's innocence, the military officer's defense team pointed to the fact that no charges have been filed to date. "It is important to emphasize that, to date, numerous searches and seizures have been carried out, in addition to the arrests of other suspects and various investigations, without, however, any charges being filed against the applicant," the lawyer wrote in the request for release rejected by Moraes.