A panel of Brazil’s Supreme Court on Friday unanimously rejected former President Jair Bolsonaro’s appeal challenging his 27-year prison sentence for plotting a coup to remain in power following his 2022 election defeat.
The four justices on the five-member panel, Flavio Dino, Alexandre de Moraes, Cristiano Zanin, and Carmen Lucia, voted to dismiss the appeal filed by Bolsonaro’s legal team. The fifth seat has remained vacant since late October.
Bolsonaro, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing, will only begin serving his sentence once all appeals are exhausted, which court sources say could happen as early as this month.
In September, the same panel sentenced the former president to 27 years and three months in prison for five crimes, including attempting to violently abolish democracy, organizing a coup, and participating in an armed criminal organization.
The ruling followed months of investigations into Bolsonaro’s efforts to overturn the 2022 election results, which saw Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva return to power.
Typically, defendants sentenced by Brazil’s Supreme Court require at least two dissenting votes to open the way for a full appeal.
With only one dissenting justice in Bolsonaro’s case, his lawyers filed a narrower motion seeking a review of specific points, such as the length of the prison term.
Bolsonaro has been under house arrest for the past three months for violating precautionary measures related to his alleged attempts to persuade former U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene in his legal troubles.
His legal team is expected to petition the court to allow him to serve his prison sentence under house arrest, citing his fragile health.
The 69-year-old former leader has suffered recurring intestinal problems since being stabbed during a 2018 campaign event and has undergone six related surgeries, the latest being a 12-hour procedure in April.
Trump has denounced the Brazilian case as a “witch hunt” and has retaliated by imposing steep tariffs on U.S. imports of Brazilian goods, sanctioning the judge overseeing the case, and revoking visas for several Brazilian officials.
While Bolsonaro was not charged for his alleged efforts to seek Trump’s interference, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered that he remain under house arrest, arguing that his continued freedom posed risks given his conviction for plotting a coup and repeated violations of court orders.
Meanwhile, Bolsonaro’s son, federal lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, currently in the United States, has been criminally charged in connection with the same case.
The Supreme Court is expected to vote later this month on whether to formally make him a defendant.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
