Jair Bolsonaro’s lawyers to present his defence at coup trial

Lawyers for Jair Bolsonaro will present their defence arguments at his trial at the Supreme Court in Brasília on Wednesday.

The former Brazilian President governed the country from January 2019 to December 2022, and is accused of leading an attempted coup after his defeat in the 2022 presidential election.

On Tuesday, the judge presiding over the trial alleged that Bolsonaro had tried to install a “veritable dictatorship” after losing to his left-wing rival, Luiz Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Bolsonaro has denied the charges and denounced the trial against him as a politically-motivated “witch hunt”.

The former president was not in attendance at Tuesday’s session, which marked the start of the final phase of the trial.

The panel of five Supreme Court justices is expected to reach a verdict by 12 September. If found guilty, Bolsonaro could be sentenced to more than 40 years in prison.

His lawyer cited health reasons for Bolsonaro’s decision to follow Tuesday’s proceedings from his home in Brasília. The 70-year-old ex-leader was stabbed on the campaign trail in 2018 and has experienced recurrent health problems ever since.

Brazil’s prosecutor-general, Paulo Gonet, outlined the charges against the former president and his seven alleged co-conspirators in the opening session.

They have been charged with leading an armed criminal organisation, attempting the violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, an attempted coup, damage to federal property, and the deterioration of listed heritage – charges which they deny.

The allegations date back to before Bolsonaro’s supporters stormed government buildings on 8 January 2023.

Following an extensive investigation, police alleged that Bolsonaro and his seven co-defendants had been planning acts to abolish the democratic rule of law and keep him in power as early as 2019.

Police say he had “full knowledge” of a plan to assassinate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – who at the time was the president-elect – along with Lula’s running mate and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.

One of the eight men on trial, Bolsonaro’s former top aide Mauro Cid, has signed a plea deal, agreeing to provide evidence in exchange for a lighter sentence.

According to prosecutors, some of the most damaging evidence they have against Bolsonaro comes from information provided by Cid.

Cid’s lawyer spoke at the session on Tuesday and stressed that his client had not been coerced into striking the plea deal, thereby rebutting accusations that his testimony had been extracted under pressure.

One of Bolsonaro’s lawyer, Celso Vilardi, said in Wednesday’s session he would respond “point by point” to what Cid’s lawyer had said.

Once all the defendants’ lawyers have taken their turns to speak, the justices will cast their votes one by one. This is likely to happen in one of the sessions scheduled for next week.

A majority of three out of the five votes is needed to find a defendant guilty.

Each judge can then recommend a sentence for those found guilty.

Bolsonaro and his co-defendants can appeal to the full Supreme Court if found guilty.