Brazil court accepts charges against more Bolsonaro allies in alleged coup plot
Prosecutor-general Paulo Gonet is pursuing cases against the former president and 33 other people.
A panel of Brazil’s Supreme Court justices has unanimously accepted charges against six more key allies of former president Jair Bolsonaro for allegedly attempting a coup to keep him in office.
Last month, the panel unanimously accepted charges against Bolsonaro and seven close allies over the alleged coup plot after his 2022 election defeat to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and ordered the former right-wing leader to stand trial.
When prosecutor-general Paulo Gonet accused Bolsonaro and 33 others of attempting a coup, he divided them into five groups based on their roles and positions in the alleged plot.
Bolsonaro and his closest allies, including running mate General Braga Netto, were in the “core group”, according to the charges.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court panel reviewed charges against the second group, which Mr Gonet said held managerial roles.
The second group includes former presidential foreign affairs adviser Filipe Martins, retired General Mario Fernandes, former Federal Highway Police director Silvinei Vasques, ex-presidential aide Colonel Marcelo Camara and two federal police officers, Fernando Oliveira and Marilia Alencar.
These individuals co-ordinated actions planned by the core group, Mr Gonet said in the indictment, including mobilising police officers to support the alleged coup, monitoring authorities and drafting a document intended to justify a state of emergency.
Bolsonaro and his allies have repeatedly denied wrongdoing. The former president says he is being politically persecuted.
He has been in hospital for more than a week, recovering from bowel surgery. On Monday, from his hospital bed in Brasilia, he gave an interview to local television network SBT and said his trial was not technical but political.
Under Brazilian law, a coup conviction alone carries a sentence of up to 12 years, but when combined with the other charges, it could result in decades behind bars.
The former president is expected to stand trial in the next few months at Brazil’s Supreme Court.
