The Military Public Ministry (MPM) presented on Tuesday (3) to the Superior Military Court (STM) the request for former president Jair Bolsonaro, three Army generals and a Navy admiral to be expelled from the Armed Forces due to their conviction in the criminal action for the coup plot.
The MPM filed suits for loss of officialdom against Bolsonaro, who is a captain in the Army reserve, the reserve generals Augusto Heleno, Paulo Sérgio Nogueira, Braga Netto and admiral Almir Garnier.
All were convicted by the Federal Supreme Court (STF) in the criminal case of the crucial core of the coup plot.
According to the Constitution, an Armed Forces officer can be expelled in the case of a criminal conviction exceeding 2 years in prison. In the case of the coup plot case, the sentences for Bolsonaro and the other defendants vary between 19 and 27 years in prison.
Next steps
With the opening of the processes, the STM was provoked to answer whether the convictions result in “incompatibility and indignity for the official role”. The action is provided for in military legislation and must be filed whenever an officer is sentenced to a custodial sentence of more than 2 years.
In the case of the coup plot, at the end of the trial the STM will answer strictly whether or not crimes against democracy are compatible with military officialdom. In no way should the military court enter into the merits of the convictions, that is, the guilt or innocence of each convicted person will not be discussed again.
Each soldier is responsible for his or her own action. The first step in the process has already been taken with the choice of the case rapporteur by draw. In the action against Bolsonaro, the selected rapporteur was Minister Lieutenant-Brigadier Carlos Vyuk Aquino. In the case of the others, the rapporteurs are Minister Veronica Sterman (civilian), Admiral Garnier; minister Barroso Filho (civilian), general Paulo Sérgio Nogueira; minister Celso Luiz Nazareth (Navy), general Augusto Heleno; minister Flavio Marcus Lancia (Army), general Braga Netto.
When taking on the case, the rapporteur must give ten days for the defense to demonstrate. Once the prosecution and defense positions are in hand, the responsible minister must prepare his vote, which has no set deadline for completion.
Only when the rapporteur releases the case, indicating that he has completed writing the vote, will the STM presidency set the date for judgment in plenary by the 15 ministers who make up the court.
In the plenary session, both the prosecution and the defense will have another opportunity to speak, this time orally, directly from the courtroom or via videoconference.
There is no time limit for each minister to vote, with the possibility of review requests (more time for analysis).
The STM is made up of 15 ministers, five of whom are civilians and ten are military. The seats are distributed among four vacancies allocated to the Army, three to the Navy and three to the Air Force and five to civil ministers.
Whatever the outcome of the trial, there will still be appeals from the prosecution or defense, in the form of nullity and infringement embargoes. Only after the decision has become final, when there is no longer any possibility of appeal, should any loss of patent be effected.
Result
If the STM, unanimously or by majority, decides to lose the rank, the soldier must be expelled from the Force, which does not mean that the salary to which he is entitled will no longer be paid. Military legislation provides that, in these cases, the pay is converted into a pension for the wife or daughters. The benefit is known as fictitious death and has been in effect since 1960.
Another consequence of the loss of rank, in the case of Army generals and Navy admirals, may be a change in the place of incarceration. Currently, soldiers serve their sentences in rooms located in military units and can be transferred to common prisons in the event of expulsion from the Armed Forces.
The exception is former president Jair Bolsonaro who, in the case of eventual loss of rank, will have no effect on the place of detention, as the Federal Supreme Court (STF) recognized that he has the right to a special room due to his status as former president of the Republic.
Bolsonaro is serving the 27 years and 3 months sentence he was sentenced to in Papudinha, a unit attached to the Papuda Penitentiary Complex, in the Federal District, and which was built to house imprisoned military police officers.
The General Staff Room where the former president is located has more than 60 square meters of floor space, as well as a TV, refrigerator, its own bathroom and outdoor space for sunbathing.
*Brazil Agency
