Ministers of the First Commission of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) will decide, on Monday (23/11), whether former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) will remain in preventive detention.
Bolsonaro has been detained since Saturday (22/11) by decision of Minister Alexandre de Moraes, at the request of the Federal Police (PF). The session that will analyze the pretrial detention order will be held in the virtual plenary session, starting at eight in the morning, and is expected to end at eight in the evening on the same day.
The extraordinary session was opened at the request of Moraes, who referred the decision to the head of the committee, Minister Flavio Dino, who is responsible for including the issue on the agenda for the deliberations of other ministers.
The trial will begin in virtual plenary with a vote of the rapporteur, who will present his analysis of the incident that led to Bolsonaro’s arrest and will defend whether or not to maintain this measure.
The arrest order was issued after a request from the National Front – supported by the Public Prosecutor’s Office (PGR) – indicating that the former president was at risk of fleeing in the face of the vigil called by Senator Flavio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) in front of his father’s condominium. The group stated that the crowd could create conditions for an escape attempt.
Moraes’ decision also cites electronic ankle bracelet violations. A video found in server logs at the Center for Integrated Electronic Monitoring (Cime) shows Bolsonaro admitting to using a soldering iron to burn the device attached to his ankle. The ankle cuff should be changed in the early hours of the morning, hours before the PF procedure.
Currently, Bolsonaro is without the equipment – which will undergo forensic examination – and occupies a 12-square-meter room in the police control facility, a space that has recently undergone improvements. The room has air conditioning, a minibar, a single bed, a TV, and its own bathroom, as revealed in the column written by Igor Gadelha, from Capitals.
The former president has already received a visit from former First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro. The defense also asked for permission to visit his sons Carlos, Flavio and Jair Renan and asked Moraes to grant house arrest on humanitarian grounds – a topic that should not be analyzed immediately, as the extraordinary session focuses exclusively on maintaining preventive care.
The pretrial detention is not related to the implementation of the 27-year prison sentence issued against Bolsonaro in the coup operation.
Crucial week
The week will also see progress in developments in the criminal prosecution of the coup. The deadline for filing second clarification requests by the defendants ends on Monday.
Bolsonaro and his allies were convicted in September by the first panel. The former president was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison. The rest are between 16 and 26 years old. After the first prohibition ruling was published last week, the defense has been able to appeal since Wednesday (19/11), but no appeal has been filed so far.
Defenses can follow two paths: new advertising bans or infringement bans. According to recent decisions of the Special Court, convicts begin serving their sentences only after the second ban ruling is issued.
The court’s jurisprudence stipulates that violating the ban only applies when two of the five ministers disagree. In the first substantive trial, sole minister Louise Fox voted against the majority – and moved to the second panel after the case.
Under this scenario, the likelihood of violating bans being rejected is high. If Bolsonaro’s defense chooses to file it, an appeal could be filed within 15 calendar days.
If the defenses appeal through the second interdiction, the first body may regard the mechanism as a mere delay and order that the conviction become final and non-appealable.
Only after this stage can the sentence implementation begin. However, defendants can request a criminal review, an appeal that must be analyzed by the plenary session of the Specialized Technical Committee, which currently consists of ten ministers – the vacancy left by Luis Roberto Barroso remains vacant. The President of the Republic, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (Workers’ Party), nominated Jorge Mesías for the presidency. The appointment is subject to Senate approval.
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