Brazil Navy Ex-Commander Almir Garnier Arrested in Brasília to Serve 24-Year Sentence

Overview

• Garnier was detained at the Saint Paul hotel in Brasília in a low-profile operation that used unmarked cars, restricted elevator access and cleared adjacent rooms.
• Justice Alexandre de Moraes rejected his appeal as manifestly delaying and directed that he be held at the Estação Rádio da Marinha in Santa Maria, in the Federal District.
• He was convicted of five crimes: armed criminal organization, attempted coup d'état, attempted violent abolition of the democratic state, qualified damage to federal property and deterioration of protected heritage.
• The Prosecutor General’s Office says he was part of a core group that sought to block Lula’s inauguration, and police investigators report he was the only service chief to agree to put troops at the plan’s disposal; he denies placing forces at the service of a coup.
• The Estação Rádio da Marinha is a strategic communications facility rather than a civilian prison but can hold inmates by court order, and Garnier was first taken to the Comando Militar do Planalto before his transfer.