A survey carried out by Folha shows that only one general officer was punished by the Superior Military Court in the last decade.
In the period, at least 20 lawsuits with soldiers of this level, the top of the hierarchy in the three Armed Forces, were filed.
That list includes Augusto Heleno, minister of the Institutional Security Cabinet, two top members of the Army and two former aides to President Jair Bolsonaro's government.
Of eight accusations made to the court by the Military Public Ministry, three were accepted.
Rear Admiral Jorge Nerie Vellame was convicted of wrongful bodily injury (unintentionally). He served two years in detention in 2015, and the sentence was extinguished in 2018.
There were also at least 13 inquiries that didn't even reach the higher court.
The STM and the Military Prosecutor's Office deny that there is impunity or corporatism in the analysis of such cases. The court emphasizes that, in the cases cited, civilian members voted for the acquittal.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon