This Thursday, September 14, the Supreme Court of Brazil sentenced a man to 17 years in prison for his participation in the attack on the headquarters of the three powers in Brasilia, which occurred on January 8. This is the first ruling by the coup. The events were perpetrated by hundreds of far-right sympathizers, a week after the inauguration of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, whose victory was not recognized by his predecessor and re-election candidate, Jair Bolsonaro.
3 min
First sentence for the worst attack on the heart of Brazilian democracy. Unanimously, the judges of the Supreme Court sentenced Aecio Lucio Costa Pereira, a 51-year-old supporter of former president Jair Bolsonaro, to 17 years in prison.
The ruling comes more than eight months after thousands of ‘Bolsonaristas’, as the followers of the far-right ex-president are known, attacked the Plaza de los Tres Poderes, in the country’s capital, where they destroyed the buildings that house the Congress, the Plenary Session of the Federal Supreme Court and the First Lady’s Office Room in the Planalto Palace.
Costa Pereira was recorded by the Senate’s security cameras, wearing a T-shirt calling for a military coup and recording a video of himself, while praising others who had also broken into the building.
The former employee of the Sabesp water company, who was detained in the Senate building during the invasion, denied the accusations against him and assured that he was participating in a peaceful demonstration of unarmed people.
Despite the unanimity among the 11 magistrates regarding the guilt of the accused, there were previously some discrepancies regarding the charges and their consequent sentence.
The man was charged under several charges that include attempted coup d’etat, armed criminal association and damage to historical buildings and monuments.
More sentences are expected for the assault on the seats of power in Brazil
This is the first conviction in this case, but it would not be the only one. At least three other defendants have been tried as part of the process. However, the final decision for the rest could be announced in the coming days.
Around 1,500 people were detained on the day of the riots, although most have been released.
This event recalled the attack on the United States Capitol, which occurred in January 2021, when legislators were preparing to ratify the victory of the current president, Joe Biden, and the place was assaulted by thousands of followers of the far-right Donald Trump.
The riot in Brazil took place a week after the current president, the leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, was sworn into office.
The current Brazilian president has accused Bolsonaro of encouraging the uprising, instigating against the legitimacy of his election at the polls and pointing out alleged irregularities.
And Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party even asked the Electoral Court to annul the results of the 2022 presidential elections, which it lost by a narrow margin to Lula. The movement alleged alleged failures in 280,000 voting machines.
However, last November that court rejected the lawsuit and accused the political group of acting in “bad faith” and imposed a fine on the political movement of around $4 million.
Precisely, these actions cost Bolsonaro his political career to be abruptly interrupted. On June 30, the Federal Electoral Tribunal (TSE) banned him from running for public office for the next eight years, after disqualifying his country’s electronic voting system without evidence.
With Reuters, AP and EFE
Source: France 24
