Berliner Tageblatt - Bolsonaro discussed 'state of siege' after election loss: court told

General Marco Antonio Freire Gomes, who was army commander under Bolsonaro, was one of the first witnesses to testify in an initial phase of the long-anticipated trial of Bolsonaro on coup charges.

After leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's election victory in 2022, but before he was inaugurated as president in January 2023, Gomes said he took part in a meeting with Bolsonaro where the possibility of declaring a "state of siege" was discussed.

"I warned him (Bolsonaro) that he could have serious problems, with judicial implications," the general said of that discussion.

Bolsonaro, 70, is accused of having conspired to hold on to power regardless of the outcome of the 2022 election, which he narrowly lost to Lula.

If found guilty, he risks a sentence of up to 40 years in prison, and political banishment.

More than 80 people -- including high-ranking military officers, former government ministers and police and intelligence officials -- are set to testify in a preliminary trial phase that opened Monday and is expected to last at least two weeks.

Former air force chief Carlos de Almeida Baptista Junior is set to give evidence on Wednesday.

Monday's hearings were opened by Bolsonaro's arch-foe, Judge Alexandre de Moraes, via video link.

Bolsonaro joined the proceedings in a yellow Brazilian football jersey, a symbol of patriotism for his right-wing supporters.

- 'Criminal organization' -

Prosecutors say Brazil's leader from 2019-2022 led a "criminal organization" planning to undo Lula's election victory.

Bolsonaro has been hoping to make a political comeback in elections next year despite being banned from seeking office until 2030 over baseless criticism of Brazil's electronic voting system.

Prosecutors say those attacks had sought to discredit the 2022 election and lay the ground for a military intervention.

Bolsonaro is also accused of being aware of a plot to assassinate Lula, his vice president Geraldo Alckmin, and judge Moraes.

Bolsonaro denies any role in a coup attempt and claims to be the victim of "political persecution."

The former army captain will be tried with seven former aides allegedly involved in the coup plot.

They include four former ministers, a former navy commander and an ex-intelligence services head.

Several former Brazilian presidents have had legal entanglements since the end of the 1964-1985 dictatorship, but Bolsonaro, who has expressed nostalgia for military rule, is the first to face coup charges.

A 900-page report by the federal police lays out the alleged plot in detail.

The attempt failed, say prosecutors, because it lacked crucial support from the top military brass.

Bolsonaro was in the United States on January 8, 2023, when thousands of supporters invaded and ransacked key government buildings, demanding a military intervention to oust Lula a week after his inauguration.

That effort also failed.

- 'Death penalty' -

Following the introductory phase with witness evidence, the trial will continue with testimony from the accused, followed by a summation from prosecutors and final arguments by defense attorneys.

Only then will the five high-court magistrates -- including Moraes -- vote on the fate of the accused and, if found guilty, sentence them.

Bolsonaro, who recently underwent abdominal surgery to treat problems arising from a 2018 knife attack, has said a conviction would amount to a "death penalty, political and physical."

C.Meier--BTB