Minister Luiz Fux of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) voted on Wednesday for the acquittal of Anderson Torres, former Minister of Justice and former Secretary of Public Security of the Federal District, in all charges linked to the coup plot.
In his analysis, Fux dismissed the responsibility of towers for the crimes of criminal organization and attempted violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law. For the minister, there is no evidence that the former minister has determined or planned actions to abolish the democratic regime.
Meetings do not configure crime
The Attorney General’s Office (PGR) accused Torres of attending meetings with military and presenting legal grounds to enable coup decrees. Fux, however, stated that no document, image or video that proves orders in this regard was identified.
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“The meetings had institutional character, linked to the functions of their portfolio, and there was no adjustment with others to execute a coup,” said the minister.
Live and public speeches
Fux also rejected the accusation that towers speaking at institutional events and a 2021 live would configure coup execution acts. For him, critical speeches to the electoral process does not equal to concrete attacks on democracy.
“We can disagree with the content, but it cannot be criminalized who defends, for example, the printed vote. This is not the beginning of the execution of a crime of attack on the Democratic Rule of Law,” he said.
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PRF USE IN THE ELECTIONS
Another point of the complaint was the alleged use of the Federal Highway Police (PRF) to hinder the arrival of voters by Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on the polls in the second round of 2022.
For Fux, the accusation did not present evidence of Torres’s participation.
“The Public Prosecution Service intends an objective criminal imputation, attributing responsibility for facts practiced by third parties, without demonstrating their willful contribution,” said the minister.
Damage and Heritage
As in other cases, Fux acquitted towers of accusations of qualified damage and deterioration of overturned assets related to the acts of 8 January. For him, there is no evidence that the former minister participated or omitted before the depredations in the Praça dos Three Powers.
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Absorption principle
Fux also applied the principle of absorption, whereby the crime of coup d’état would be encompassed by the violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law, removing the separate analysis.
With this position, the minister opened another divergence regarding the rapporteur Alexandre de Moraes and Minister Flávio Dino, who voted for the condemnation of the eight defendants of the central nucleus of the coup plot.
The Judgment in Progress
The first class of the Supreme Court, chaired by Minister Cristiano Zanin, resumed on Wednesday (10) the analysis of the complaint against the so-called “crucial core” of the alleged coup plot, appointed by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) as responsible for articulating measures to prevent the possession of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) after the election of 2022.
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Ministers Alexandre de Moraes and Flávio Dino voted for the rejection of all preliminary defendants argued and asked the defendants to be convicted of all crimes imputed by PGR. The trial will have extraordinary sessions until September 12.
Vote of Minister Alexandre de Moraes
For the rapporteur of the case, it was proven that there was an attempt to coup d’état from 2021, when the first preparatory acts began to be executed with the misuse of public agencies, such as ABIN and GSI, to discredit the electronic ballot boxes and the judiciary.
Moraes dealt with Bolsonaro as leader of a hierarchical criminal organization, structured with division of tasks and composed of military and federal government members. According to him, the objective of the group was to ensure the permanence in power “regardless of the electoral result”, using illegal instruments and paying attention against democracy.
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The minister rejected all preliminaries presented by the defenses, maintaining the validity of Mauro Cid’s award -winning denunciation and the evidence gathered by the Federal Police. He stressed that it is not necessary to consummate the coup so that the crime is configured – executory acts are already enough to hold those involved.
For the minister, the gathered evidence demonstrates that the central target of conspiracy was the democratic rule of law, systematically attacked to undermine the institutions and paving the way to the perpetuation of Bolsonaro’s political group in power.
Vote of Minister Flávio Dino
Minister Flávio Dino accompanied the rapporteur Alexandre de Moraes and voted for the conviction of Jair Bolsonaro and seven other defendants of the so -called coup plot.
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In his speech, Dino rejected the thesis of the defenses that the conduct would only be “preparatory acts.” For him, there were concrete enforcement acts that configure violence and serious threat, such as highway blocks, attempts to close airports and attacks on institutions. The minister pointed out that crimes of enterprise – such as coup and abolition of the democratic rule of law – do not require consummation to be punished.
The magistrate was also categorical in stating that the crimes imputed to the defendants are unsusceptible of amnesty, as they involve actions of armed groups against the constitutional order. Dino also rejected the idea of a “self -annist” in favor of high levels of power, remembering that there was never precedent of this kind in the history of the country.
In analyzing the participation of each defendant, Dino said that the penalties should not be equal, as the levels of culpability vary. Bolsonaro and Walter Braga Netto were pointed out as leaders of the criminal organization, with greater responsibility. Garnier, Anderson Torres and Mauro Cid were also classified with high culpability, while Augusto Heleno, Alexandre Ramagem and Paulo Sérgio Nogueira had a minor participation.
Next Steps
The process now goes to the votes of ministers Cármen Lúcia and Cristiano Zanin. Each vote will be divided into two stages: first, the analysis of preliminaries – such as the validity of Mauro Cid’s allegation and the competence of the Supreme Court; Then the merit, with the evaluation of the evidence presented by PGR.
The final decision will be made by a simple majority. If the conviction is confirmed, the penalties will be discussed in a later stage.
Who are the defendants
In addition to Bolsonaro, they respond in the action:
• Alexandre Ramagemfederal deputy and former director general of ABIN;
• Almir Garnierformer commander of the Navy;
• Anderson Torresformer Minister of Justice and former Secretary of Public Security of the DF;
• Augusto Helenoformer GSI minister;
• Mauro CidLieutenant Colonel and former Assistant of Bolsonaro Orders;
• Paulo Sérgio Nogueiraformer defense minister;
• Walter Braga Nettoformer Minister of Defense and Civil House, candidate for vice president in 2022.
The eight defendants are accused of armed criminal organization, attempted violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law, attempted coup, damage qualified by violence and serious threat and deterioration of listed heritage. In the case of branch, part of the accusations was suspended by decision of the House of Representatives.
