San Francisco Frontiers - Bolsonaro's trial on coup charges to begin in Brazil

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

Bolsonaro could face up to 40 years in prison if convicted of plotting to remain in office after leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had narrowly defeated him in October 2022 elections.

The hearings are to begin at 3:00 pm local time (1800 GMT).

Prosecutors say Brazil's 2019-2022 leader led a "criminal organization" planning to declare a state of emergency so new elections could be held.

The 70-year-old politician is already banned from seeking office until 2030 over his baseless criticism of Brazil's electronic voting system.

Prosecutors in the current case say those attacks were aimed at discrediting the election and laying the ground for a military intervention.

Bolsonaro also stands accused of being aware of a plot to assassinate Lula, his vice president Geraldo Alckmin, and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes -- a Bolsonaro foe and one of the judges hearing the current case.

Bolsonaro has always denied any role in a coup attempt, blaming the charges on "political persecution."

Last week he told Brazil's UOL news site that prosecutors were fabricating a "telenovela scenario," a reference to the melodramatic TV soap operas popular in Latin America.

- 'Death penalty' -

The former army captain will be tried along with seven former aides accused of key roles in the alleged plot.

They include four former ministers, one former navy commander and the head of intelligence services during Bolsonaro's 2019-2022 presidency.

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 coup plan in detail, saying it called for a decree ordering a new election -- and for Lula's assassination.

But the attempt failed to draw crucial military support and ultimately collapsed, prosecutors say.

The charges cover the riots of January 8, 2023, when thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and sacked key government buildings, demanding a "military intervention" to oust Lula a week after his inauguration.

Bolsonaro was in the United States at the time, but is suspected of backing the riots, which prosecutors say were the coup plotters' "last hope."

Despite his ban on running in elections, Bolsonaro has insisted he plans to be a candidate in next year's vote.

But after recent abdominal surgery -- his latest of many rounds to repair persistent damage from a knife attack in 2018 -- he has also said that a conviction now would be a "death penalty, political and physical."

- Building a case -

Key figures in the drama will be questioned via videoconference during the preliminary trial phase beginning Monday led by Justice de Moraes, who Bolsonaro supporters see as their arch-nemesis.

During those hearings "it will be possible to identify any contradictions, either between different witnesses or from the same witness," Rogerio Taffarello, an expert in criminal law at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, told AFP.

"Only after that step can a case for conviction be built," he said.

Witnesses are to include generals Marco Antonio Freire Gomes and Carlos de Almeida Baptista Junior, respectively the army and air force commanders under the Bolsonaro presidency.

In earlier testimony before federal police, both men admitted having been present in meetings in which Bolsonaro "raised the hypothetical possibility of using legal instruments" to overturn the 2022 election result and justify a military intervention.

But both officers said they refused to go along, and Freire Gomes said he even threatened to have Bolsonaro arrested if he went ahead with it.

Following the introductory phase, the trial will continue in coming months 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 Judge de Moraes -- vote on the fate of the accused and, if they are found guilty, sentence them.

B.Turner--SFF