The Military Public Ministry pointed out, when defending (), the former president’s disregard for “the most basic ethical precepts” of military ethics. According to the agency, the seriousness of the crimes is undisputed, with an intensity that should result in the loss of the patent used.
In the representation sent on Tuesday (3) to the (Superior Military Court), the body listed a series of military duties ignored by , including probity, respect for the “dignity of the human person” and compliance with the laws and “orders of the competent authorities”.
The document delivered to the military court makes reference, in one of the points, to statements made by the former president on September 7, 2021, “. “I want to tell the scoundrels that I will never be arrested.“
The representation cites rules that were allegedly broken by Bolsonaro. It says, for example, that, still holding the rank of Army captain, the former president stopped “conducting himself, even when off duty or when inactive, in such a way that the principles of discipline, respect and military decorum are not harmed”.
He continues to argue that Bolsonaro, equally, failed to look after “the good name of each and every one of his members”, and that, during a relevant portion of his term as President of the Republic, he moved away from obedience “to the precepts of military ethics”.
Bolsonaro’s defense did not comment on the matter.
This Tuesday, the STM received the representations of loss of rank led by Bolsonaro, sent by the Military Public Ministry. The court will evaluate the cases of Bolsonaro, who is a retired captain, retired generals Augusto Heleno, and Paulo Sérgio Nogueira and admiral Almir Garnier.
Unlike the progress in the (Supreme Federal Court), in which the central nucleus of the coup plot was judged in a single action, in the STM each of the uniformed parties will have the case reported separately. Due to the way the court works, when the prosecutor places the representation in the system, distribution to a rapporteur is automatic.
The understanding adopted is that, although the cases were analyzed together by the STF, the STM judges the behavior of the military, and that, therefore, there would be no justification for bringing the cases together under a single report.
The document signed by the Attorney General of Military Justice, Clauro Roberto de Bortolli, summarizes the charges for which Bolsonaro was convicted in the Supreme Court and the ruling of the First Panel, handed down last September
In the case of Walter Braga Netto, Bortolli stated that the general played a strategic and intellectual role in the attempt at democratic rupture and also to give concreteness to the most violent actions of the plot. It also says that he promoted attacks on Force commanders who would not adhere to the planning, to embarrass them and force a change of stance.
“The person represented, therefore, preferred the path of attempting a coup d’état. […] Furthermore, he chose to follow it based on the ‘false demonstration’ by ‘deliberate misinformation‘which are not included ‘within the scope of freedom of expression'”, he states.
Thus, the prosecutor argues, Braga Netto would have violated “the first of the precepts of military ethics”: the duty to “love the truth and responsibility as a foundation of personal dignity.” He also cited eight other provisions that would have been violated, including compliance with civil authorities, acting with loyalty to the country, having camaraderie and a spirit of cooperation with other military personnel.
The representation against General Heleno, former head of the GSI (Institutional Security Office), cites the use of the body and Abin (Brazilian Intelligence Agency) to construct and disseminate a false allegation of the vulnerability of electronic voting machines and the lack of legitimacy of Justice, “with the purpose of generating institutional instability and social chaos”, citing the STF ruling.
The text also highlights that Heleno was one of the most prestigious personnel in the Armed Forces.
“The Army General, a respected general in the Brazilian Army, allowed his name to be used by Jair Messias Bolsonaro, who took advantage of his presence, in the various meetings and demonstrations attacking the Institutions, ‘to encourage the intervention of the Armed Forces and repudiate Democracy'”, says Bortolli.
He also adds that Heleno did not fail, however, to also “express his full adherence to the coup plan, which he called a ‘turning of the tables’ in the “.
