Brasilia, March 10 (RHC)-- Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) has sentenced 15 others accused of participating in the coup acts that took place on January 8, 2023 with the purpose of preventing the swearing-in of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as president of the South American nation.

According to local media, the judges applied sentences ranging from 14 to 17 years in prison for the crimes of criminal association, violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, coup d'état, qualified damages and deterioration of property.

The judicial process was conducted virtually, so the magistrates had the possibility to cast their vote until 23H59 (local time).

Justice ministers Flávio Dino, Luiz Fux, Dias Toffoli, Cármen Lúcia and Gilmar Mendes supported the rapporteur of the case, Alexandre de Moraes, while Cristiano Zanin and Edson Fachin supported the report with reservations and proposed a lesser penalty.

Three justices -- Judges André Mendonça, Luis Roberto Barroso and Nunes Marques -- disagreed with the ruling adopted.

Moraes recalled that a climate conducive to a rupture of the constitutional order was generated by a "concentration of people in camps, not only in Brasília, but throughout the country, with the intention of provoking a riot among those subjected to the military regime."

The highest Brazilian court has indicted about 130 defendants since the beginning of the trials against those involved in the coup actions of January 8, 2023 to the detriment of democracy.