Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro denied involvement in an alleged plot to stay in power and overturn the 2022 election results, testifying before the Supreme Court on Tuesday.
Bolsonaro and seven of his closest allies have been questioned by a panel of top judges as part of a probe into allegations they orchestrated a multi-layered scheme to keep him in power despite his defeat by incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
“There was never any discussion of a coup. A coup is a terrible thing… Brazil could not have withstood it. And in my government, the possibility of a coup did not even exist,” Bolsonaro said.
The defendants face five charges: attempted coup d'état, participation in an armed criminal organization, attempted violent destruction of the democratic rule of law, causing significant damage and deterioration of protected cultural heritage.
A conviction for attempted coup d'etat could carry a prison sentence of up to 12 years. Combined with other charges, the defendant could face decades in prison.
The right-wing politician took the witness stand at around 2:30 p.m. local time. When Judge Alexandre de Moraes asked him at the start of his questioning whether the allegations were true, Bolsonaro denied them.
“The accusation has no basis, Your Excellency,” Bolsonaro said. The former president has repeatedly denied the allegations, claiming he was the victim of political persecution.
The eight defendants are considered key figures in the plan. Judges are also questioning Bolsonaro's former partner and Defense Minister Walter Braga Netta, as well as former ministers Anderson Torres and Augusto Heleno and former aide Mauro Cid, among others.
Judges plan to question 26 other defendants later. The court has already heard dozens of witnesses in hearings that began in mid-May.
Cid, who signed a plea deal with federal police, said on Monday that Bolsonaro read and edited a document aimed at annulling the election.
Cid also claimed that Bolsonaro refused to intervene in the situation with his supporters who pitched tents in front of army installations calling for military intervention after his electoral defeat.
Many of these supporters later became part of the riots on January 8, 2023, when the Supreme Court was ransacked,
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
