. This is a former president of the Republic tried and convicted in a very controversial process
Given Jair Bolsonaro’s latest serious health incident, which took him to the ICU, there is no longer any justification for not granting the former president house arrest, just as was given to former federal deputy Roberto Jefferson. Bolsonaro is visibly weakened due to the consequences of the 2018 stabbing. Since then, there have been 9 surgeries.
Some claim that Bolsonaro should be treated like any other prisoner based on the principle of equality before the law. However, Bolsonaro is not just any prisoner. This is a former president of the Republic tried and convicted in a highly controversial process.
From the beginning, the conduct of the process for an attempted coup d’état was marked by a series of legal weaknesses. One of the main ones was the lack of concrete connection between the acts of January 8th and Bolsonaro’s core. Without this link, Bolsonaro would have merely considered a coup, which according to the law would not be a crime.
Another weakness of the process was the difficulty in accessing all the evidence for the defense. Furthermore, the trial was led by minister Alexandre de Moraes, who would also be the victim in this process, according to what was revealed by the “yellow green dagger” plan. In this case, as the judge and the victim are the same person, the principle of the accusatory system is violated.
However, this was not how the majority of the First Panel of the STF understood it, and Bolsonaro was convicted of attempting to violently abolish the democratic rule of law; attempted coup d’état; damage to Union assets; and deterioration of listed heritage.
Regardless of the legal discussion surrounding the case, the former president deserves humanitarian treatment for everything he represents in the country. There is no reason to keep him in Papudinha. One cannot confuse the Democratic Rule of Law with revenge.
*This text does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Jovem Pan.
