Brazil top court to consider Bolsonaro 'coup' case on March 25

by Lucia LACURCIA

Brazil's Supreme Court on Thursday said it would consider on March 25 whether to try far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro on charges of masterminding an attempted coup.

Bolsonaro, 69, has been the target of multiple investigations since his turbulent years as president of Latin America's biggest democracy from 2019 to 2023.

Last month, he was charged with a failed plot to prevent his left-wing successor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office after his victory in October 2022 elections.

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Bolsonaro is accused of heading a criminal organization which had also hatched a plan to assassinate Lula, his vice president, and a top Supreme Court judge.

The five charges against the accused include the crimes of "coup d'etat," the "attempt to violently abolish the democratic rule of law" and "armed criminal organization," among others.

If found guilty, Bolsonaro could face up to 40 years in prison.

Prosecutors say that Bolsonaro greenlit a plot to assassinate Lula in December 2022 that went nowhere because the army chief refused to get on board.

The following month, a week after Lula's inauguration, Bolsonaro's supporters attacked the presidential palace, Congress and Supreme Court in Brasilia.

The rioting was reminiscent of the attack by President Donald Trump's supporters on the US Capitol two years earlier.

Both Trump and Lula claimed they had been cheated out of another term in office.

- Seeking Trump-style comeback -

The Supreme Court on March 25 will examine whether there is sufficient evidence against Bolsonaro to launch criminal proceedings against him.

The court may make its decision known on the same day or defer it to a later date, a court source told AFP.

Bolsonaro, a former army captain who was dubbed the "Trump of the Tropics" when he first won office, says the case is a ploy by an "authoritarian regime" to silence opponents and prevent him making a Trump-style comeback.

His lawyers argue that the Supreme Court is not competent to try the former president and that it has not been given full access to the evidence against him.

In a 24-page document sent to AFP on Thursday, the prosecutor's office rejected each of the arguments.

Bolsonaro has already been barred from holding elected office until 2030 for spreading misinformation about Brazil's voting system.

He is lobbying Congress to revise the ban so he can run for president again when Lula's third term ends next year.

Bolsonaro has called for a demonstration on Sunday on Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach to demand that Brazil follow Trump's example by pardoning the Brasilia rioters.