A Brazilian woman on the run after participating in the coup on January 8, 2023 was arrested on Tuesday (12/2), by Argentine military personnel while trying to enter Paraguay. The Federal Supreme Court sentenced Cerlin de Souza Zanotti, 53, to 14 years in prison.
The woman works as a psychiatrist and said she was “in exile” in Argentina. Her defense confirmed the arrest and described it as “political persecution.”
Soldiers from the Argentine National Gendarmerie arrested Serlin in the city of Posadas, Misiones province. She was trying to enter Paraguay.
The Bolsonarista has been transferred to prison in Ezeiza, in Buenos Aires, and will undergo a hearing on Wednesday (3/12). In June 2024, Minister Alexandre de Moraes requested Serlin’s extradition to Brazil.
Read also
-
Wide angle
Moraes cites the “deliberate passivity” of DF prime ministers during 1/8
-
Wide angle
1/8: Moraes vote stipulates that the Prime Minister of DF pay R$ 30 million in solidarity with the other convicts
-
Wide angle
Moraes: Defense Prime Ministers had “positive and cordial interactions” on 1/8
-
Wide angle
8/1: The accused Prime Minister suffered a malfunction in his ankle bracelet on the day of Bolsonaro’s arrest
The Special Court sentenced Sirlin to 14 years in prison – 12 years and 6 months in prison and 1 year and 6 months in detention – on charges of violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, attempted coup, deterioration of listed heritage, and armed criminal groups.
In December 2024, Sirlin posted a message saying that the Special Forces “stole everything” from her in a “false accusation of a crime” and “an operation riddled with illegalities.” “Here (in exile) there is no life,” the woman wrote. “Injustice crosses borders and keeps me in a body without a purpose.”
Serlin’s defense said in a statement that her detention in Argentina shows that “political persecution in our country transcends national borders.”