Ex-president rejects charges; he and seven co-accused risk prison sentences of up to 40 years in this ‘historic’ trial.
Brazil’s far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro, testifying for the first time before the nation’s Supreme Court, has denied involvement in an alleged coup plot to remain in power and overturn the 2022 election result that he lost to current leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro, 70, and seven of his close allies were questioned by a panel of top judges on Tuesday as part of a trial over allegations that they devised a multi-step scheme to keep Bolsonaro in office despite his defeat to Lula.
Bolsonaro and his co-defendants risk prison sentences of up to 40 years in a trial dubbed “historic” – the first ever for an attempted coup under a democratic government in Brazil.
“That’s not the case, your honour,” Bolsonaro replied on Tuesday when asked by Judge Alexandre de Moraes – an arch political foe – about “the truthfulness” of the accusations against him.
