MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolsonaro gets STF notification while still in ICU

Bolsonaro had participated in a live broadcast and was consequently deemed fit to handle STF matters

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was visibly angered Wednesday when he was served a court notification in his DF Star hospital in Brasília ICU bed, where he is recovering from intestinal surgery. The document relates to criminal proceedings initiated by the Supreme Federal Court (STF) for his alleged role in a coup attempt to prevent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s inauguration after the 2022 elections.

The charges stem from a conspiracy involving demonstrations and the violent storming of government buildings on Jan. 8, 2023.

Despite his health condition, the STF deemed Bolsonaro fit to receive the notification after participating in public broadcasts.

He is accused of attempting to abolish democratic rule, alongside other defendants, with around 500 people already convicted for related crimes. Bolsonaro has five working days to present his defense.

Bolsonaro, who underwent a 12-hour surgical procedure 10 days ago, shared on his social networks the exact moment when a bailiff arrived at his intensive care ward to deliver the notification.

In the video, Bolsonaro defended his innocence and showed signs of irritation while in the ICU. At one point, someone in the room informed him that his blood pressure was rising.

The criminal proceedings against him began on March 26 following the STF's acceptance of charges filed by the Attorney General's Office. He should have been officially notified last week, but his health condition prevented it.

However, the STF claimed that after participating in a live broadcast from the hospital on Tuesday with his children, he was fit to receive such notification. ”The disclosure of the live broadcast made by the former president yesterday (April 22) demonstrated the possibility of being summoned today (April 23),“ the STF said in a statement. In addition, the court noted that seven other defendants had already been notified between April 11 and 15.

The prosecution accuses the former president and several of his closest aides of conspiring to prevent the inauguration of current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who won the October 2022 elections.

Part of the plan included demonstrations in front of military barracks nationwide as thousands of activists demanded military intervention to overturn the election outcome.

This conspiracy culminated in the violent storming of the headquarters of the three branches of government on Jan. 8, 2023, one week after Lula's inauguration, after which some 500 people were sentenced to prison terms of up to 17 years for crimes such as coup d'état and destruction of public property.

Despite his hospitalization, Bolsonaro gave a video interview to SBT Brasil directly from his bed on Monday. And on Tuesday, he took part in a live broadcast with his sons Flávio, Eduardo, and Carlos Bolsonaro, as well as former car racer Nelson Piquet, to promote a helmet brand in which he and Flávio are partners.

Tuesday's medical update stated that Bolsonaro showed ”good clinical evolution” and signs of intestinal movement, although he is still fasting and being fed by tube. The hospital maintained the recommendation of total restriction on visits, which did not prevent him from receiving PL president Valdemar Costa Neto in the ICU.

STF Justice Alexandre De Moraes ordered all eight defendants of the so-called political nucleus of the coup plot summoned.