The First Chamber of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) resumes, this Tuesday (16/12), the trial of the accused of core 2 of the putschist plot, accused of having managed the actions of the criminal organization which sought to keep former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) in power.
On the first day, December 9, the lawyers of the six accused made oral arguments and requested the acquittal of their clients. The Attorney General’s Office (PGR) reiterated its demand for the conviction of all members of the group.
On this second day of the trial, the hearing will open with the vote of the rapporteur of the case, Minister Alexandre de Moraes, at 9 a.m. Moraes will vote on the merits and the preliminaries, then the three other ministers of the first panel will give their opinion in the following order: Cristiano Zanin, Cármen Lúcia and Flávio Dino. Then, in the event of conviction, the sanctions are measured individually.
Last group of accused
Core 2 is the last one that will be judged in 2025, given that core 5, in which journalist Paulo Figueiredo is the only accused, has not yet analyzed the receipt – or not – of the complaint.
On 9/12, the Attorney General of the Republic, Paulo Gonet, defended the conviction of the six defendants in criminal action (AP) 2.693. He classified them as responsible for managing the main initiatives of the criminal organization.
Gonet presented his statement to the First Panel of the STF after reading the report (summary of the case) of Minister Alexandre de Moraes, rapporteur of the criminal action.
The PGR emphasizes that the six accused were responsible for preparing the “coup d’état project”, monitoring and planning the assassination of central public authorities of the democratic regime, such as the newly elected President and Vice-President of the Republic and then President of the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE), Minister Alexandre de Moraes. They are also accused of actions by the Federal Highway Police (PRF) aimed at preventing voters in the North-East region from voting in the 2022 elections.
The defendants face charges of attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, coup d’état, participation in an armed criminal organization, criminal damage and damage to classified property.
They constitute Core 2:
- Fernando de Sousa Oliveira (delegate of the Federal Police);
- Filipe Garcia Martins Pereira (former international advisor to the Presidency of the Republic);
- Marcelo Costa Câmara (army reserve colonel and former presidential advisor);
- Marília Ferreira de Alencar (delegate and former director of intelligence of the federal police);
- Mário Fernandes (army reserve general);
- Silvinei Vasques (former director general of the Federal Highway Police).
Without Luiz Fux
On the first day of the trial, lawyer Marcus Vinícius Figueiredo, defender of General Mário Fernandes, invoked the rules. He made the same request as the defense of Filipe Martins: that Minister Luiz Fux participate in the trial. Check it out:
Shortly after the point of order, Moraes responded to the request. “It is not at all relevant. In addition to being delaying, the request that a minister of the Second College participate in a trial before the First College is absurd,” declared the rapporteur of the file.
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On December 8, Moraes had already rejected a similar request from the defense of Filipe Martins, former advisor to Jair Bolsonaro (PL). The lawyers requested that the involvement of Minister Luiz Fux in the trial of the group 2 defendants be recognized. Moraes, the rapporteur of the case, considered this means “simply delaying”.
Martins’ defense requested “the recognition of the link of Minister Luiz Fux with the AP judgment nº 2.693, due to the procedural link between the criminal actions derived from PET nº 12.100, the prevention of the collegiate, the physical identity of the judge and the constitutional principles of broad defense, natural justice and equality”.
He also concluded by affirming that Filipe Martins has the right to be judged “by the same collegial composition that evaluated sections 1 and 4 of the alleged “putschist plot, guaranteeing deliberative coherence and equal treatment between the accused subject to the same factual complex, with the consequent participation of Minister Luiz Fux”. Same argument as the defense of Mario Fernandes this Tuesday.
On both occasions, Moraes emphasized that, “under the terms of Article 147 of the Internal Regulations of the STF, the Commissions meet in the presence of at least three ministers, without any legal or regulatory provision for the participation of a minister who is part of the Second Commission.”
Although Fux participated in the trials of the first jury, with the retirement of Luís Roberto Barroso at the end of September, he requested to leave the college and joined the second jury in October.
Judgments
24 defendants have already been tried and convicted due to the attempted coup: eight from Core 1, formed by former President Jair Bolsonaro and seven other former members of the government; seven from core 4; and nine from core 3.
Concerning core 5, composed solely of businessman Paulo Figueiredo, the PGR’s complaint has not yet been evaluated.
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