Pallade Veneta - Top Brazil court hears landmark Bolsonaro coup case

Bolsonaro could face decades in prison if convicted of conspiring to cling to power after losing 2022 elections.

More than 80 people -- including high-ranking military officers, former government ministers and police and intelligence officials -- are to testify in a preliminary trial phase expected to last at least two weeks.

Monday's hearings were conducted by Bolsonaro's arch-foe, Judge Alexandre de Moraes, by video link.

Former army commander General Marco Antonio Freire Gomes was set to be questioned on Monday, with his former air force counterpart, Carlos de Almeida Baptista Junior, set to follow suit on Wednesday.

Bolsonaro, 70, joined the hearings clad in a yellow Brazilian football jersey, a symbol of patriotism for his right-wing supporters.

He could face up to 40 years in prison if convicted of plotting to remain in office after leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva narrowly defeated him in October 2022 elections.

- Plot to assassinate Lula -

Prosecutors say Brazil's 2019-2022 leader led a "criminal organization" planning to declare a state of emergency so new elections could be held.

He is already banned from seeking office until 2030 over his baseless criticism of Brazil's electronic voting system.

Prosecutors in the current case say those attacks were aimed at discrediting the election and laying the ground for a military intervention.

Bolsonaro is also accused of being aware of a plot to assassinate Lula, his vice president Geraldo Alckmin, and Judge de Moraes.

Bolsonaro has always denied any role in a coup attempt, blaming the charges on "political persecution."

Last week he told Brazil's UOL news site that prosecutors were fabricating a "telenovela scenario," a reference to the melodramatic TV soap operas popular in Latin America.

- 'Death penalty' -

The former army captain will be tried along with seven former aides accused of playing key roles in the alleged plot.

They include four former ministers, one former navy commander and the head of intelligence services during Bolsonaro's presidency.

Several former Brazilian presidents have had legal entanglements since the end of the 1964-1985 dictatorship, but Bolsonaro, who has expressed nostalgia for military rule, is the first to face coup charges.

A 900-page report by the federal police lays out the alleged coup plan in detail, saying it called for a decree ordering a new election -- and for Lula's assassination.

But the attempt failed to draw crucial military support and ultimately collapsed, prosecutors say.

The charges cover the riots of January 8, 2023, when thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and ransacked key government buildings, demanding a military intervention to oust Lula a week after his inauguration.

Bolsonaro was in the United States at the time, but is accused of instigating the riots, which prosecutors say were the coup plotters' "last hope."

Despite his ban on running in elections, Bolsonaro has insisted he plans to be a candidate in next year's vote.

But after recent abdominal surgery -- his latest of many rounds to repair persistent damage from a knife attack in 2018 -- he has also said that a conviction now would be a "death penalty, political and physical."

- Building a case -

Key figures in the drama will be questioned during the preliminary trial phase.

During those hearings "it will be possible to identify any contradictions, either between different witnesses or from the same witness," Rogerio Taffarello, an expert in criminal law at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, told AFP.

"Only after that step can a case for conviction be built," he said.

The former army and air force commanders under Bolsonaro, Freire Gomes and Baptista Junior, admitted having been present in meetings in which Bolsonaro "raised the hypothetical possibility of using legal instruments" to overturn the 2022 election result and justify a military intervention.

But both officers said they refused to go along, and Freire Gomes said he even threatened to have Bolsonaro arrested if he proceeded with the plan.

Following the introductory phase, the trial will continue in coming months with testimony from the accused, followed by a summation from prosecutors and final arguments by defense attorneys.

Only then will the five high-court magistrates -- including Judge de Moraes -- vote on the fate of the accused and, if they are found guilty, sentence them.

F.M.Ferrentino--PV