STF analyzes 8/1 complaints; understand the judgment – 04/16/2023 – Power

After the first reactions to the anti-democratic acts of January 8, the Judiciary leadership begins a new stage: prosecute and judge the more than a thousand supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) denounced for involvement in coup acts.

The STF (Federal Supreme Court) begins to analyze in the early hours of this Tuesday (18) whether to open criminal proceedings against the suspects and whether to maintain the proceedings in court. There will be cases concerning one hundred defendants.

Until the beginning of this month, 1,390 people were denounced by the PGR (Attorney General’s Office), which attributes to them crimes such as damage to public property and attempts to abolish the democratic rule of law. The defense of the accused criticizes the work of the Prosecutor’s Office.

Minister Alexandre de Moraes prioritized the judgment of complaints relating to those who remain in prison. By his determination 313 people are kept behind bars.

Understanding the Supreme Court

What will the Supreme Court decide? The ministers will analyze the 1,390 complaints by the PGR against those involved in the coup attacks on January 8. If he accepts the arguments of the Prosecutor’s Office, criminal actions are instituted and the process begins, which may lead to the conviction of the accused.

How will the court judge the complaints? Minister Alexandre de Moraes, rapporteur for the investigation at the court, split the analysis. In the first wave, which begins at 00:00 this Tuesday (18), complaints relating to one hundred people will be judged. All of them are trapped.

The judgment will take place in the virtual plenary, a modality in which ministers vote electronically. The first to vote will be Moraes, and the others will give their opinions in sequence. The trial is scheduled to end at 23:59 on the 24th.

Ministers may request that the judgment be transferred to the face-to-face plenary, currently composed of ten members due to the retirement of Ricardo Lewandowski on April 11.

What crimes are alleged in the allegations? Half of the group (50 people) targeted by this first analysis is accused by the Attorney General’s Office of inciting the animosity of the Armed Forces against the Powers and criminal association. The accused were arrested on the morning of January 9 in the camp set up in front of the Army headquarters in Brasília.

These defendants make up what is called by the Attorney General’s Office a group of inciters, with no direct involvement in the vandalism of the buildings.

Against the other 50 people, in the group of executors, weigh the accusations of damage to public property, criminal association, violent abolition of the democratic rule of law and coup d’état. These were arrested on the premises and in the vicinity of the headquarters of the three Powers.

Can the STF expand the list of crimes by accepting complaints? No. The ministers must stick to the accusations formalized by the Attorney General’s Office.

Does the court start the trial with what evidence and evidence against the accused? The PGR did not publicize the accusations, but in demonstrations about the case it stated that there is a set of evidence to support the accusation, such as images, messages and testimonies that reveal that there was a stable and permanent situation of an association formed by hundreds of people to attack against the institutions.

What does the defense of the accused say? Lawyers and public defenders allege, among other arguments, the ineptitude of the complaints, stating that they are devoid of their elementary requirements, including the description of the criminal act with all its circumstances.

One of the defendants claims, through his defense, that he was not arrested for destroying the Planalto Palace, but was just inside the Executive headquarters when he was arrested. He says that the Public Prosecutor’s Office did not point out which conduct the investigated actually practiced, attributing the same conduct to everyone inside the building, without individualization.

Another alleged that he was not arrested inside the palace, but in its vicinity when he tried to protect himself from bombs and stun gas.

Lawyers and public defenders will be able, via the virtual plenary system, to present their oral arguments until 11:59 pm this Monday (17).

If the accusations are accepted, where will the defendants be judged? Moraes defends that the accused be prosecuted and judged in the Supreme Court itself, but nothing prevents a minister from raising the debate and defending the processing of criminal actions in the first instance.

What happens after the processes are initiated? There will be collection of evidence and testimony from witnesses for the defense and prosecution. Afterwards, the Supreme judges whether to condemn or acquit the defendants. There is no specific deadline for this step.

Is the STF able to judge criminal actions quickly? There is no team on the court that is able to handle the instruction phase of the processes. One possibility that has been considered is the creation of a task force, with the summoning of judges.