Brazil’s Supreme Court nears a verdict in coup plot trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro

By EL ONORE HUGHES and MAURICIO SAVARESE Associated Press BRASILIA Brazil AP A panel of Supreme Court justices is set to decide this week whether former President Jair Bolsonaro is guilty or not of plotting to overthrow Brazil s democracy and hang onto power illegally after his electoral defeat Related Articles Israel says it targets Hamas leadership in Qatar s capital as blast heard in Doha US tech companies enabled the surveillance and detention of hundreds of thousands in China Israeli military urges full evacuation of Gaza City ahead of expanded military operation In the current era in History September Attica prison uprising begins Sweden s plans to mine rare-earth minerals could ruin the lives of Indigenous Sami reindeer herders The panel s chairman Cristiano Zanin opened Tuesday s session at around a m local time The judicial panel began by reviewing final requests from the parties Court sessions are scheduled every day through Friday Bolsonaro did not attend the court The far-right ex-president is facing five counts at trial for allegedly conspiring to stage a coup after his narrow loss to current President Luiz In cio Lula da Silva a leftist who first won the presidency two decades earlier If convicted by the five-judge panel in the verdict expected Thursday or Friday Bolsonaro could be sentenced to decades behind bars Bolsonaro has inevitably denied any wrongdoing repeatedly calling the trial a politically motivated attack Trump interest in trial outcome Dozens of Bolsonaro loyalists gathered Monday evening outside his Brasilia home They prayed for him criticized the Supreme Court justice overseeing the event Alexandre de Moraes and sought to exert pressure on lawmakers to approve a few kind of amnesty for the embattled ex-leader Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet announced last week in court that Bolsonaro led a multipronged plot to cling to power illegally that included casting doubt over the country s electronic voting system and encouraging a Jan riot Gonet described as intended to force an army takeover Prosecutors have pointed to evidence that Bolsonaro assembled top Cabinet and military authorities to discuss issuing an urgency decree aimed at suspending the poll outcome of October in order to investigate alleged voting fraud But defense lawyer Celso Vilardi vehemently noted the decree was never issued The planning is not the execution No matter how detailed the planning may be it is the act of violence that certainly consummates the crime Vilardi informed the justices at the televised proceedings Bolsonaro ordered a transition Bolsonaro did not act against the democratic rule of law he added Bolsonaro called himself the victim of a witch hunt using the same expression as U S President Donald Trump in defending his right-wing ally Trump has directly tied a tariff on Brazilian goods to his ally s judicial situation and is expected to be closely watching the trial outcome On Sunday tens of thousands of Bolsonaro supporters took to the streets In Sao Paulo his wife Michelle Bolsonaro noted in a speech that he loves the country Each of the five justices is to vote on Bolsonaro s guilt or innocence with a majority of three votes enough to convict If one of the justices requests a longer review the verdict could be delayed for up to days but court experts have stated that s unlikely Bolsonaro is charged with five counts attempting to stage a coup involvement in an armed criminal organization attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law and two counts involving destruction of state property A guilty verdict on the coup plot charge alone carries a sentence of up to years Remains under house arrest In the event of a guilty verdict each justice can recommend a sentence If recommendations differ a single justice chosen among the panel would determine an average of the prison time and attainable fines Seven other close allies of Bolsonaro are being tried alongside the ex-president including Walter Braga Netto his former running mate and defense minister and Paulo S rgio Nogueira another former defense minister Deemed a flight peril Bolsonaro is wearing an ankle monitor and remains under house arrest He did not appear in court last week due to ill vitality Vilardi notified journalists The ex-president demands an unspecified medicinal procedure Vilardi stated the judge Monday suggesting Bolsonaro might not attend court this week either The trial marks a historic moment in Brazil For the first time high-ranking military officers and a former president accused of plotting against democratic rule are standing trial Quite unpredictable Despite pressure from the White House Brazil s Supreme Court has kept the trial on track Observers commented any U S sanctions against Brazilian government could be declared after the trial further straining their fragile diplomatic relations Regime functionaries or other Supreme Court justices could be sanctioned like De Moraes already was late July noted Oliver Stuenkel a professor of international relations at the Getulio Vargas Foundation a think tank and university The reaction could also involve broader visa restrictions for authorities agents or more tariffs Stuenkel disclosed It s quite unpredictable On Saturday night Lula delivered a national message ahead of Sunday s Independence Day celebrations saying Brazil will not be anyone s colony taking an indirect swipe at the Trump administration Dorgelina Souza Oliveira de Medeiros wants Trump to put even more pressure on Brazil to help free Bolsonaro For more than a week she has joined other supporters of the former president close to his home despite the fact a great number of of them believe he will be jailed anyway His sentence was ready before this trial began We want amnesty for all so those jailed can be issued those in exile can come back de Medeiros disclosed We are suffering but I trust God that things will change I hope that even in this trial there could be a miracle Hughes broadcasted from Rio de Janeiro