BRASILIA, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's Supreme Federal Court on Tuesday began the trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022) and seven other defendants, who face charges of attempting a coup d'etat.

The court's First Chamber is holding the hearings and if the majority of its five judges find the accusations filed in February by Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet to be substantiated, the defendants could face time in prison.

The so-called "core 1" of the indictment includes Bolsonaro and his top aides and officials, including his former chief of staff, former minister of the Institutional Security Cabinet, and former director of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency.

In addition to Tuesday's session, an additional session is scheduled for Wednesday morning to complete the analysis of the indictment.

In the coming weeks, the supreme court will have to decide whether the other defendants in the alleged coup plot, grouped into cores 2, 3 and 4 to facilitate the trial, are subject to prison sentences.

The charges stem from the violence that broke out in a bid to keep Bolsonaro in power after he lost the 2022 presidential elections to his opponent and current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Authorities investigating the incident discovered a detailed plan to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power, including by systematically undermining the credibility of the electoral system.

They also uncovered an alleged plot to assassinate then President-elect Lula da Silva, Vice President-elect Geraldo Alckmin, and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Enditem

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