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Former Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro will face the trial of a claimed plot for a coup intended to keep the right to power after he lost re-election in 2022.
The country’s Supreme Court on Wednesday voted to allow criminal proceedings against the difficult population and seven other defendants, who include his former ministers of defense and justice, the head of intelligence and the commander of the Navy.
Prosecutors accuse them of a plot to prevent the surrender of power from the chosen democratic left, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro, who is 70 years old, faces a possible sentence of decades prison if he is found guilty on charges of leading an armed criminal organization, violent repeal of the rule of law and coup.
The eight defendants, including Bolsonaro, also face further accusations of riots in Brasília on January 8, 2023, when supporters of the ultra-conservative nationalist destroyed the Congress and the Supreme Court and the Presidential Palace.
Prosecutors have said that rage was a last attempt to overthrow Lula a week after he took office. Bolsonaro was out of place at the time.
All eight defendants have denied the charges.
Police investigators claimed that the scheme to overthrow Brazilian democracy also included plans to kill Lula, his vice president and a justice of the Supreme Court to the end of 2022.
The case will continue after it has been approved by all members of a five -judge panel in the Supreme Court of Brazil. A trial may begin in the coming weeks and legal experts believe that a verdict is likely before the end of the year.
In total, 34 individuals are indicted for alleged involvement in the plot. The Brazil Supreme Court has not yet to decide whether the rest will face criminal proceedings.
