Brazil’s Supreme Court granted humanitarian house arrest to those over 70 who were convicted of participating in the January 8, 2023 coup attempt.

The decision was signed on Friday (Apr. 24) by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the rapporteur for cases related to the attempted coup d’état.

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Moraes applied the Criminal Enforcement Law, which allows for the granting of house arrest to individuals over 70. The decision also benefits 18 other elderly inmates with serious illnesses.

One of the beneficiaries was 70-year-old retiree Maria de Fátima Mendonça Jacinto, known as Fátima from Tubarão, who was sentenced to 17 years in prison and has already served three years, ten months, and 24 days.

According to the case that led to her conviction, Jacinto broke into the Supreme Court’s headquarters, smashing windows, chairs, tables, and works of art, and posted the acts on social media. Based on the videos, she was identified and arrested by the Federal Police of Brazil two weeks after the coup-related acts.

Fátima Jacinto and the other elderly individuals must comply with precautionary measures, including wearing an electronic ankle monitor, surrendering their passports, refraining from leaving the country, using social media, or maintaining contact with others under investigation.

Those granted these measures may receive visitors only with prior authorization from the justice.

In the event of non-compliance, Moraes may order the return of the convicted individuals to a closed prison regime.

Despite being granted house arrest, the convicted individuals remain jointly liable for the payment of BRL 30 million in damages resulting from the vandalism of the Supreme Court building, the Congress, and the Planalto presidential palace.

According to the latest data released in January by the Supreme Court, the Court’s First Panel has convicted 1,399 individuals accused of participating in acts that sought to undermine Brazilian democracy and the functioning of its institutions. According to the report, 179 people are currently in prison, 114 of them in a closed regime following the finalization of their convictions.

Following the coup attempts, the Office of the Attorney General filed 1,734 criminal cases with the Supreme Court. The charges were divided among instigators, perpetrators, and four main nuclei that supported former President Jair Bolsonaro’s attempt to remain in power after losing the election, thereby subverting the democratic order, according to the Supreme Court.

The report shows that the majority - 979 people (68.9%) - were charged with less serious offenses and received sentences of up to one year in prison (415) or benefited from non-prosecution agreements.