The investigation into the insurrection in Brasília continues. A judge of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) decided to provisionally release 464 people suspected of having participated in the violent uprising in Brasilia, while another 942 will remain in detention, his office reported on Friday. Judge Alexandre de Moraes assessed 1,406 cases of people suspected of participating in the invasion and looting of power centers in the capital, the STF reported in a statement.
More than 2,000 people have been detained since January 8, when thousands of supporters of the far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro stormed the presidential palace, Congress and the Supreme Court, vandalizing furniture, priceless works of art and part of the infrastructure.
Nearly 1,000 people arrested
The assault came a week after the rise to power of the leftist icon Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, winner of the presidential elections last October.
In the days after the violence, the judiciary determined that special cases such as the elderly, pregnant women, and mothers of young children would be released on humanitarian grounds before being heard.
Judge Moraes ordered the preventive detention of 942 people, arguing that there are indications that the detainees participated in acts of “terrorism”, criminal association, violent abolition of the rule of law and coup d’état. For the judge, the detainees could have committed “unlawful and extremely serious” acts, and preventive detention, of indefinite duration, is necessary to “guarantee public order and ensure the effectiveness of the investigations.”
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Moraes spoke in favor of the provisional release of another 464 detainees, under certain conditions such as the use of an electronic bracelet and the prohibition to use social networks. Regarding these cases, Moraes indicated that, although there are strong indications of responsibility and participation in crimes, particularly in the attempt to overthrow a legally constituted government, no evidence has been collected so far.
The 1,459 hearings in the 1,406 cases were held between January 8 and 17, the court said.
Jair Bolsonaro, who traveled to the United States two days before the transfer of power, is the subject of an investigation by the Brazilian authorities who suspect him of instigating the riots. The former president, who has been the subject of 16 investigations for electoral irregularities, rejects these accusations.
Source: BFM TV
