The first day of the trial of core 2 of the coup plot at the Supreme Federal Court (STF) took place the pleadings of six of the lawyers of the accused, who defended their clients, in addition to the position of the Attorney General of the Republic, Paulo Gonet, who requested the conviction of all the accused.
With their return scheduled for Tuesday (16/12) and the expected completion of this core on the same day, the four ministers of the Prime Panel heard during the first session the positions of the defense and the Office of the Attorney General (PGR).
After reading the report of the rapporteur, Minister Alexandre de Moraes, Gonet reinforced what he had already requested in his indictments and defended the conviction of the six defendants accused of having used the public apparatus, through the Federal Roads Police (PRF), to hinder voters’ access to polling stations in the second round of the 2022 elections.
Who are the two main accused?
- Philippe Martins – former advisor to Bolsonaro who is following this Tuesday’s trial at the STF;
- Fernando de Sousa Oliveira – Delegate of the Federal Police and former deputy secretary of the Public Security Secretariat of the DF;
- Marcelo Câmara – Army colonel and former advisor to Bolsonaro;
- Mario Fernandes – Army Reserve General;
- Marília Ferreira de Alencar – Delegate of the Federal Police and former Undersecretary of Public Security of the Federal District;
- Silvinei Vasques – former director general of the Federal Highway Police (PRF).
Gonet stressed that the members aimed to create “social chaos” to provoke criminal intervention. For him, the defendants wanted “a scenario of open violence, imposed on the principle of the materiality of the crime”.
“It is certain that the defendants in this case joined the illicit objectives of the criminal organization and contributed to the criminal events in question,” the PGR said during the trial.
The Attorney General added: “The investigation identified an active communication network developed by the defendants, with evidence of meetings and decision-making, aimed at generating harmful joint actions, supported by the use of police force, with the aim of ensuring, through indirect means, the victory of Jair Bolsonaro.
Defenses
While the PGR requested the conviction of all defendants for the crimes of attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, attempted coup d’état, participation in an armed criminal organization, qualified damage and damage to classified property, the defense requested the acquittal of the defendants.
The lawyers’ work began with Guilherme de Mattos Fontes, defender of Fernando de Sousa Oliveira. He requested that the client not be convicted of any of the crimes charged by the PGR.
“The accusation does not stand. The defense maintains, above all, the lack of participation of the accused Fernando in the crimes with which he is accused. Indeed, the evidence in the file shows that, in no way, Fernando participated or contributed to the criminal enterprise. He engaged in conduct diametrically opposed to the criminal attempt and in total disagreement with the other co-defendants, in particular the accused Anderson Torres”, he emphasized.
The second to take the stand was Jeffrey Chiquini, lawyer for Filipe Martins, Bolsonaro’s former international adviser. He said Martins had been arrested, denounced and would be tried for the misconduct of Jair Bolsonaro’s former aide-de-camp, Mauro Cid.
“Arrested for a trip that he did not take, for a draft that he did not write. Despite this, he spent six months in prison, 10 days in a dungeon, in solitary confinement,” he maintained.
Chiquini reiterated that Martins did not travel to the United States and said that the delegate in charge of investigations was “lenient” in accepting the information from the Cid when ordering the arrest of the former advisor.
“Because this arrest of Filipe Martins for a trip he did not make shows the scandalous behavior of the delegate. An investigator who turned a blind eye to the official documents he had to ‘perquire ab initio’ (investigate thoroughly from the beginning) until the final plot — but he did not do it,” he declared.
In the afternoon, the hearing resumed with the pleadings of Eduardo Kuntz, Marcelo Câmara’s lawyer. “Colonel Marcelo Câmara did not know what was happening,” he said.
“It is very possible, very probable – especially because it was affirmed during the confrontation, when Colonel Cid said that Colonel Câmara was not aware of the operations – that he was actually used to transmit information. This defense does not fail to take this into account,” added the defender.
Then, Eugênio Aragão, lawyer of Marília Alencar, delegate of the Federal Police and former Undersecretary of Public Security of the Federal District, took the floor.
“It must be taken into account that Dr. Marília was appointed and took office on January 5, so a few days before. She did not have a structure within the secretariat, she had not chosen the people who would work with her; she had to use the existing structure to fulfill her role,” he said.
Marcus Vinícius, Mário Fernandes’ lawyer, also addressed the coup plan.
“He (Mário Fernandes) will be condemned because he was in favor of signing. And I am not here to absolutely absolve anyone; I am just a lawyer, faced with many difficulties, including those who constantly try to circumvent them. But the role here is not to discuss whether his conduct is moral or not moral,” he said.
The last to speak was Eduardo Pedro Nostrani Simão, defender of Silvinei Vasques.
“On Election Day, several videos circulated giving the impression that my client was trying to prevent the popular vote in places where the current president would be favored by voters. This is false data. The videos are true, but the news about the videos is false,” he said.
The trial, which will resume next Tuesday (16/12), will resume with Moraes’ vote.
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