Military coordination and report preceded the decision that took Heleno to home care

Military personnel who visited General Augusto Heleno had been describing the former minister of Jair Bolsonaro’s Institutional Security Office (GSI) as “airborne” in prison and intensified requests for him to serve his sentence under house arrest, a request already made by lawyers based on his Alzheimer’s diagnosis. This Monday, Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), authorized Heleno’s transfer to house arrest.

Moraes’ decision responded to a request from the defense, with a favorable position from the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), due to his age, 78 years old, and because he has Alzheimer’s. In a statement, the general’s defense stated that the decision recognizes “the need to protect fundamental rights, especially to health and dignity, and said that the general will comply with all measures imposed by the Court”.

Sentenced by the Federal Supreme Court (STF) to 21 years in prison as part of the coup plot, Heleno was taken to the Planalto Military Command on November 25th as ordered by Minister Alexandre de Moraes.

The demand for Heleno to be transferred home also fell on the Minister of Defense, José Múcio Monteiro, who has told interlocutors, however, that he saw no way for his actions to contribute to this happening.

Múcio and the Army commander, General Tomás Paiva, spoke with Moraes a week before the arrests of Heleno and former Defense Minister Paulo Sérgio Nogueira took place. They requested that handcuffs not be used and that the generals be led by military personnel. The requests were fulfilled.

After the arrests, tension rose again, especially in the reserves, and Múcio had been working to prevent this animosity from generating noise among active military personnel.

In addition to describing the former head of the GSI as “aerial”, military personnel who were with Paulo Sérgio Nogueira in recent days describe the former Minister of Defense as “dejected”. Múcio, however, did not maintain direct contact with the condemned men. Augusto Heleno and Paulo Sérgio Nogueira serve their sentences in special rooms at the Planalto Military Command. The spaces were prepared with a bed, desk, chair, air conditioning and bathroom.

Head of the Institutional Security Office during the four years of the Bolsonaro government, Heleno is 78 years old and said he suffers from Alzheimer’s, which causes memory loss, among other effects. According to the defense, tests had been showing cognitive loss since 2018, and the diagnosis of the disease was finalized in 2025. Moraes ordered additional tests before deciding on the request for house arrest. The Attorney General’s Office (PGR) has already agreed to serve the sentence at home.