Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), voted this Friday (28) to sentence five former members of the leadership of the Military Police of the Federal District to 16 years in prison for failing to contain the coup acts of January 8, 2023.
The vote was given during a virtual trial in which the First Panel of the Court will decide whether to convict the defendants reported to the Supreme Court by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR).
Moraes voted for the conviction of Fábio Augusto Vieira, former general commander, and Klepter Rosa Gonçalves, former deputy general commander, in addition to colonels Jorge Eduardo Barreto Naime, Paulo José Ferreira de Sousa and Marcelo Casimiro Vasconcelos.
Omission
In the minister’s understanding, the defendants engaged in negligent conduct during the coup acts and committed the crimes of violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law, coup d’état, qualified damage and deterioration of listed property.
“Arbitration, violence and the breach of republican principles, as seen with the criminal acts perpetrated by crowds that invaded the buildings of the Three Powers on January 8, 2023, [foram] facilitated by the willful omission of authorities responsible for institutional security”, he argued.
The STF minister also understood that the accused should be sentenced to a joint payment of R$30 million for the damage caused by the vandalism of public buildings during the acts. The amount will be divided among all those convicted in the actions that deal with the coup plot. Furthermore, they will lose their public positions after the process ends.
Electronic voting continues until December 5th. The votes of ministers Flávio Dino, Cristiano Zanin and Cármen Lúcia are missing.
Absolution
Alexandre de Moraes also voted to acquit Major Flávio Silvestre de Alencar and Lieutenant Rafael Pereira Martins. He understood that there is not sufficient evidence that the defendants had decision-making power over the troops.
During the proceedings, the defendants’ defense questioned the STF’s holding of the trial and stated that the defendants did not have a privileged forum. The lawyers also alleged that the defense was being restricted due to the lack of full access to the process documentation.
