(Brasilia) Brazil’s Supreme Court on Monday sentenced three supporters of far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro to heavy sentences of up to 17 years in prison for attempted coup d’état during the Brazil riots. Brasilia in January.
At the end of a week-long trial before 11 judges of the Federal Supreme Court, Moacir José dos Santos, 52, was sentenced to 17 years in prison. Joao Giffoni, 26, and Davis Baek, 42, were sentenced to 12 and 14 years in prison respectively.
The Court also sentenced the three defendants to a fine of 30 million reais (5.7 million euros) each.
On January 8, 2022, a week after the inauguration of left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, thousands of people refusing to accept his election against Jair Bolsonaro stormed the emblematic Three Powers Square in Brasilia, the heart of Brazilian democracy.
Protesters invaded the presidential palace, Parliament and the Supreme Court, in scenes that recalled the assault on the Capitol in Washington by supporters of Donald Trump on January 6, 2021.
The damage was considerable, with the destruction of priceless works of art in the futuristic buildings designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer.
The reporting judge, Alexandre de Moraes, considered that Moacir José dos Santos was part of a “criminal group” which sought “institutional rupture through a coup d’état, military intervention and the end of the democratic rule of law.
The accused was convicted of all the crimes with which he was charged, including those of “coup d’état” and “violent abolition of the democratic rule of law”.
In September, during the first trial of the riots, three other people were sentenced to sentences ranging from 14 to 17 years in prison.
In total, the Brazilian prosecutor’s office has already initiated proceedings against 232 people and investigations continue to unmask the “masterminds” of the plot and determine responsibilities within the police and the army.
Jair Bolsonaro, who was in the United States on January 8, is under investigation to discover whether he played a role in instigating the violence. He categorically denies any involvement.