Decision takes into account the age and health of the former GSI minister, convicted by the STF for involvement in the coup plot case
Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), granted house arrest to retired general Augusto Heleno, convicted of involvement in the coup plot that sought to keep former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) in power after his defeat in the elections. The decision imposes the use of an electronic ankle bracelet and establishes a series of restrictions on the former minister of the Institutional Security Office (GSI).
The measure was taken after a request from the defense, which claimed that Heleno lives with Alzheimer’s. According to the general, the diagnosis would have been made in 2018, information presented during a forensic examination after the arrest. Subsequently, the defense stated that tests carried out in 2024 confirmed the diagnosis only in January 2025. Given the divergent versions, Moraes ordered a medical examination to be carried out, the report of which was delivered this Monday (22) and remains confidential.
In the decision, Moraes ordered that Augusto Heleno surrender all passports, have his firearm and CAC registrations suspended and be prohibited from using telephones, cell phones or social networks. Visits are restricted to lawyers, doctors and people previously authorized by the STF. Any travel for health reasons must be authorized in advance, except in cases of urgency or emergency, which must be justified within 48 hours.
The minister also warned that failure to comply with house arrest or any of the measures imposed will result in an immediate return to the closed regime.
The Attorney General’s Office (PGR) was in favor of granting house arrest. In the opinion, the Attorney General of the Republic, Paulo Gonet, stated that the circumstances of the case indicate the need to reassess the convict’s situation, considering his age and health, duly proven. According to the PGR, the measure is exceptional and proportional, similar to other decisions already adopted by the STF in humanitarian cases.
Augusto Heleno was sentenced to 21 years in prison for being part of the so-called “crucial nucleus” of a criminal organization accused of trying to promote a coup d’état. The sentence includes 18 years and 11 months of imprisonment, in a closed regime, and two years and one month of detention, in a semi-open or open regime, with the sentence beginning in the closed regime.
The general was arrested at the beginning of the week by the Federal Police, with support from the Army, after the conviction became final — when no further appeals were available. He was sent to the Planalto Military Command, in Brasília, before the decision that authorized the sentence to be served under house arrest.
