Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro (2019 and 2022) and 22 former collaborators went to the Federal Police this Thursday to testify about alleged coup plans prior to the inauguration of the current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, although the right-wing leader decided to remain silent.
Bolsonaro appeared at the headquarters of the Federal Police in Brasilia, But his lawyer, Fabio Wajngarten, explained to journalists that he adhered to “his right to remain silent,” so he was released half an hour later.
“This silence is not only the use of a constitutional right, but also a strategy supported by the fact that the defense has not had access to all the elements that are being attributed to the former president,” he added.
Cunha added that his client “was never in favor of any type of coup movement.” “The former president does not fear anything because he did not commit any crime,” he stated.
Bolsonaro defends his innocence and claims to be the victim of “relentless persecution.”
The investigation led the police to launch Operation Tempus Veritatis on February 8 (the moment of truth, in Latin), with dozens of raids, confiscation of passports and arrests around Bolsonaro, who was prohibited from leaving the country.
According to the Police, there is “data that proves” that Bolsonaro “analyzed and altered a draft decree which, apparently, would be the basis of the coup d'état in progress.
(Also read: Brazil: Supreme Court orders Bolsonaro to hand over his passport in case of the coup attempt)
In addition to Bolsonaro, four former ministers were summoned to testify this Thursday, three of them reserve generals: Walter Braga Netto, Paulo Sérgio Nogueira and Augusto Heleno. Admiral Almir Garnier, former Navy commander, other high-ranking military officers and former deputy Valdemar Costa Neto, president of the Liberal Party, led by the former president, also appeared to give a statement.
The hearing, at the headquarters of the Federal Police in Brasilia, occurs just three days after a street rally called by the former president (2019-2022) in Sao Paulo to repudiate the accusations.
“No one tried to carry out a coup in Brazil, it is the great truth,” Bolsonaro reiterated on CBN Recife radio.
It is the sixth time that the former president appears before the police to give statements since he left the presidency.
Last year he appeared for the alleged falsification of vaccination certificates against covid-19, as well as for the irregular entry into Brazil of valuable jewelry given by Saudi Arabia.
(Also: Still polarized, Brazil marks the first anniversary of the Bolsonaro uprising)
He also had to testify on suspicion of instigating the riots on January 8, 2023.
That day, a week after Lula assumed his third term, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters dissatisfied with his victory in the October 2022 elections stormed the presidential palace, Congress and the supreme court.
Bolsonaro, who was in the United States at the time, denies any incitement of the riot and rejects that they were part of a preconceived plan. He even suggested that they were not his followers.
But according to the police, about two months before Bolsonaro received and modified a decree in which he planned to arrest the president of the Superior Electoral CourtAlexandre de Moraes, and call new elections.
The file of the alleged coup d'état plan also contains a video of a meeting held on July 5, 2022, three months before the elections in which Lula was victorious.
The recording, released by the supreme court on February 9, shows Bolsonaro urging several of his ministers to launch a campaign against the electronic ballot box system.
“If we react after the elections, it will be chaos in Brazil, a great guerrilla,” the right-winger tells his ministers in the video.
The investigation into the alleged coup plot was ordered by Moraes, in charge of several investigations against the former president and his entourage.
Moraes, also a supreme court judge, is a constant target of criticism from Bolsonaro.
(You can read: Brazil: what is known about the espionage scandal that affects former President Bolsonaro)
The defense requested that Moraes be removed from the case, alleging that he lacks “the impartiality necessary to perform his duties.” He also asked to postpone his client's statement to the police. The supreme court denied both.
Bolsonaro can “remain silent” during his hearing, but “cannot decide” when to appear, Moraes declared, according to a statement from the Supreme Federal Court.
(Keep reading: Brazil: House of Bolsonaro's son raided as part of espionage investigation)
Despite the numerous investigations he has been subject to since he left the presidency 14 months ago, The 68-year-old former army captain has remained at the head of the opposition.
And although in June he was politically disqualified until 2030 for misinformation, on Wednesday he said he was “convinced” that he will be able to reverse that “injustice.”
Regarding Sunday's demonstration in Sao Paulo, he promised that it will be a “peaceful event” to show “Brazil and the world a photograph of green and yellow” – the national colors – and deny suspicions against him.
AFP and EFE
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