Sawt Falasteen - Brazil's Supreme Court begins voting in Bolsonaro verdict

The court's five justices have until Friday to reach a judgement on Bolsonaro.

The 70-year-old former army officer faces more than four decades in prison if convicted on charges that he attempted a coup after his defeat in the 2022 elections against the winning, leftist candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The former head of state is in the dock with seven co-defendants, including ex-ministers and army generals.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who heads up the Supreme Court panel, has been singled out by the Trump administration in aggressive moves to influence the trial.

The US government imposed financial sanctions on Moraes and a 50 percent tariff on many Brazilian imports. Trump has repeatedly denounced what he claims is a "witch hunt" against Bolsonaro, who has modeled his political profile closely on the US leader.

Moraes has vowed that the court would not bow to "internal or external threats and coercion" and will stand "absolutely inflexible in defending national sovereignty."

- Amnesty? -

The trial is the first of a Brazilian former head of state on coup charges.

For many Brazilians it is a test of democracy 40 years after the end of military dictatorship, for others a political show trial.

On Sunday, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters demonstrated in several cities to denounce the trial as a "disgrace" and thanking Trump for his intervention.

Bolsonaro, who served a single term from 2019 to 2022, stands accused of having led a "criminal organization" that conspired to overthrow Lula.

Prosecutors say he plotted to declare a state of emergency and call new elections, but failed to win the support of the military top brass.

Bolsonaro also allegedly knew of a plan to assassinate Lula, his vice president Geraldo Alckmin and the judge Moraes.

Over four days from Tuesday to Friday, the five judges will decide the ex-president's fate, voting one after the other.

A simple majority of three judges is needed for a guilty verdict, but Bolsonaro can still appeal.

Apart from a lengthy prison sentence, a guilty verdict could also scupper Bolsonaro's hopes of making a Trump-style comeback from a criminal conviction to the country's top job.

Fearing his conviction is imminent, allies are meanwhile pushing Congress to pass an amnesty law to save Bolsonaro from prison.

Sao Paulo governor Tarcisio de Freitas, a Bolsonaro ally and possible candidate in 2026 presidential elections, told AFP there were "more than enough votes" for the amnesty to pass.

Aides said Bolsonaro plans to follow this week's deliberations from his residence in Brasilia where he has been under house arrest since last month.

Lawyers have said he is in ill health, due to ongoing effects of being stabbed in the abdomen at a campaign rally in 2018.

Z.AbuSaud--SF-PST