Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro among 37 people facing charges of attempting coup

Thursday, 21 November 2024 21:57

By Tim Jones, news reporter

Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro is among more than 30 people facing charges of allegedly attempting a coup after his electoral defeat in 2022.

Federal police have delivered the results of their investigation to the country's supreme court, which must decide whether to refer them to prosecutor-general Paulo Gonet to bring formal charges.

The former right-wing president has denied claims he tried to stay in office after his narrow defeat to rival, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva - the leftist politician who won with 50.9% of the vote.

Mr Bolsonaro posted on X that investigators and the supreme court judge overseeing the case had been "creative" and done "everything the law does not say".

The final police report completes a near two-year investigation into Mr Bolsonaro's role in a movement which culminated in riots by his supporters that swept the capital, Brasilia, in January 2023.

Overall, around 1,500 supporters were detained.

Police have revealed the names of all 37 people who have been indicted as part of an alleged coup.

They include dozens of Mr Bolsonaro's former and current aides, along with military generals.

Earlier this week, police arrested five conspirators suspected of planning to assassinate Mr Lula, and his running mate, before they took office.

Mr Bolsonaro has faced a series of legal threats since losing in 2022. They focus on claims of diamond smuggling and falsifying COVID-19 vaccination documents - both of which he has denied.

A separate investigation found he had abused his authority to cast doubt on the country's voting system, and judges barred him from running again until 2030.

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Police have prepared a 700-page document describing details of the alleged coup attempt, which is likely to take several days for the supreme court to review.

Among those listed as potentially facing charges are: General Walter Braga Netto, who was his running mate in the 2022 campaign; former Army commander General Paulo Sergio Nogueira de Oliveira; Valdemar Costa Neto, the chairman of Bolsonaro's Liberal Party; and his veteran former adviser, General Augusto Heleno.

Sky News