In an unprecedented move in Brazil, a military tribunal announced on Tuesday that it would examine whether to strip former president Jair Bolsonaro of his military rank, along with several generals who were convicted over an attempted coup.
Bolsonaro, a former army captain, was sentenced by Brazil’s Supreme Court last September to 27 years in prison after being found guilty of conspiring to remain in power following his defeat by current left-wing president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the 2022 election.
The president of the Superior Military Court (STM), Maria Elizabeth Rocha, said the tribunal would consider a request from military prosecutors to declare Bolsonaro and four senior commanders unfit to retain their ranks and benefits within the armed forces.
Bolsonaro will be assessed by a so-called “court of honour”, which will determine whether he may keep his rank of captain despite his conviction over the coup plot, Rocha said.
“The question is whether the crime for which he was convicted – and for which the sentence has already become final in the Supreme Federal Court – allows him to retain the uniform or not,” she added.
According to Rocha, the proceedings involving army generals Walter Braga Netto, Paulo Sérgio Nogueira and Augusto Heleno, as well as former navy commander Admiral Almir Garnier Santos, are without precedent in Brazil since the military court was established in 1808.
“This is the first time that we are truly judging the loss of rank of a general officer,” she said.
Two STM judges will now carry out a preliminary review to decide whether to open a full trial before the court’s 15-member bench, made up of 10 military judges and five civilians. No date has yet been set for the proceedings.
