After determination by the minister Alexandre de Moraesfrom the STF (Supreme Federal Court), the PF (Federal Police) will have 15 days to carry out a medical examination on the health of the General Augustus Helenoformer minister of the GSI (Institutional Security Office).
Moraes analyzes a request for domicile from the general’s defense, which alleges a worsening of his health condition. Heleno has been detained at the Planalto Military Command, in Brasília, since last Tuesday (25).
Sentenced to 21 years in prison under an initial closed regime for an attempted coup d’état, the former GSI minister informed the Army during a criminal examination last week that he suffers from Alzheimer’s disease.
Recall the chronology of events
General Heleno is arrested
Retired general Augusto Heleno was arrested on Tuesday (25), after minister Alexandre de Moraes ordered a final and unappealable ruling, that is, the conclusion of the process for the defendants in core 1 of the coup plot.
Along with Paulo Sérgio Nogueiraformer Minister of Defense, and Walter Braga Netto, former Minister of Defense and Civil House and candidate for vice on Jair Bolsonaro’s (PL) ticket in 2022, Heleno is part of the .
The former GSI minister was accompanied by four-star generals to the Planalto Military Command.
Alzheimer’s story
During the forensic examination, Heleno informed the Army that he suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. The exam was carried out at the Military Command in Planalto and is a standard procedure to check the individual’s health conditions before entering the prison system and to identify previous illnesses.
According to the medical report, he declared that he has been experiencing progressive dementia of the Alzheimer’s type since 2018, accompanied by constipation and hypertension, and is undergoing drug treatment.
When asked about any current complaints during the assessment, the soldier reported only back pain. The responsible doctor recorded in a report that Heleno was in good general condition, lucid and with normal vital signs. He also says that he was an elderly man with an appearance compatible with his age and “with a stable emotional state”.
Request for house arrest
As shown by CNN Brazil on Friday (28), the Attorney General of the Republic, Paulo Gonet, spoke to General Augusto Heleno.
According to Gonet, the concession is carried out on a humanitarian basis. In the opinion, he also explains that the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court allows the consent of house arrest “to a convict suffering from a serious illness who requires medical treatment that cannot be offered in the prison establishment or in an appropriate hospital unit”.
“Maintaining the person in custody under house arrest is an exceptional measure and proportional to his age group and his health condition, the severity of which has been duly proven, which could be violated if kept away from his home and the scope of the mandatory and protectionist measures that must be implemented by the State”, explained the PGR.
Moraes gives five days for clarification
On Saturday (29), about the disease. In the order, the minister told the defense to explain how the general was head of the GSI (Institutional Security Office) and was a carrier of the disease.
“The Defense must also clarify whether, due to the position held between 2019 and 2022, the defendant communicated his diagnosis to the health service of the Presidency of the Republic, the Ministry or any body,” said Moraes.
The minister ordered the defense to present:
- Initial examination that would have identified or recorded diagnostic symptoms of mixed dementia (Alzheimer’s and vascular), in 2018;
- All reports, exams, medical, neuropsychological and psychiatric evaluations produced since 2018, including medical records, evolution reports, prescriptions and related documents that prove the allegations;
- Documents proving consultations and doctors who monitored the evolution of mixed dementia, Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia throughout this period.
Defense corrects date of diagnosis
In response to Moraes, the — as stated in the corpus delicti examination report.
Lawyer Matheus Milanez, who represents Heleno, stated that he believes there was a mistake in the Army’s expertise during the exam.
“At no time did this technical defense state that the Applicant [Augusto Heleno] he had Alzheimer’s disease since 2018. The only place this information appears is in the criminal report carried out when the Applicant’s arrest warrant was served”, he maintains.
“Therefore, there are no tests to be collected regarding this disease between 2018 and 2023, as the specific tests were carried out in 2024 and the diagnosis was only finalized in January 2025”, he added.
Milanez also stated that he did not inform about the disease during the criminal proceedings, as highlighted by Moraes in his order, because “there was an expectation of a fair acquittal due to the elements in the case” and because he considered that “the disease was not relevant to the examination of the facts prior to its clinical manifestation”.
“The medical condition was even the reason why the Applicant [Heleno] having chosen to answer only his lawyer’s questions during the interrogation, as he was no longer sure of the facts and chronologies”, says the defense.
Medical expertise
Amid the impasse over information provided by the defense, Moraes sent, on Monday (1st), to , within 15 days, about the general’s health.
The minister determined that a “complete clinical evaluation be carried out, including medical history, laboratory tests and evaluations, such as thyroid function and vitamin B12 levels, neurological and neuropsychological, including, if necessary, imaging tests such as magnetic resonance imaging and PET, in addition to whatever they deem necessary to verify the defendant’s health status.”
“In particular their memory and other cognitive functions, as well as any degree of functional limitation resulting from the identified pathologies”, he continues.
