Brazil's Supreme Court rejects appeal and upholds 27-year sentence against Jair Bolsonaro
Brazil's Supreme Court voted unanimously on Friday to reject an appeal and uphold the 27-year sentence of former President Jair Bolsonaro for attempting a coup after the 2022 elections.
The far-right leader was found guilty in September of having conspired to prevent the leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from taking office after losing the elections.
In the appeal, the lawyers alleged "profound injustices" and "contradictions" in the ruling that has the 70-year-old politician close to going to jail. The defense claimed alleged obstacles to carrying out its duties during the trial and sought a reduced sentence.
The four judges of the first chamber of the Supreme Federal Court voted against the appeal, in a session that is taking place virtually.
The result will not be official until the deadline set by the court, at midnight on November 14.
Judge Alexandre de Moraes , in charge of the case, was the first to speak and rejected all the arguments of the defense.
In a lengthy 141-page document accessed by AFP, Moraes reiterated Bolsonaro's role as the leader of a criminal organization that, along with several collaborators, conspired to undermine the democratic rule of law.
He also reaffirmed his role as the instigator of the events of January 8, 2023, when hundreds of his followers stormed the headquarters of public powers in Brasilia.
The magistrate denied the existence of "curtailment of defense", noting that all the evidence was made available to the lawyers.
And he ruled out reducing the punishment, even arguing that Bolsonaro's advanced age had already been considered a mitigating factor.
"The ruling provided the basis for all stages of the sentence calculation," Moraes wrote.
The other three judges voted the same way throughout the day.
The former president (2019-2022) awaits the decision under house arrest and is prohibited from making public statements or using social media.
If the result is unfavorable, another appeal is still possible, but it can be rejected without being put to a vote.
In that case, the sentence would begin to be applied and Bolsonaro could go to prison.
Due to his health problems, the defense may request the court to allow him to serve his sentence at home, as happened with former president Fernando Collor de Mello (1990-1992).
He was granted house arrest in May for an eight-year sentence for corruption.
Bolsonaro is suffering from several complications stemming from a stab wound to the abdomen he received in 2018 during a presidential campaign event. He was also recently diagnosed with skin cancer, although the lesions were removed.
Following the conviction, Bolsonaro's supporters pushed through an amnesty bill in Congress that would benefit the former president and those involved in the riots of January 8th.
However, the initiative fizzled out after large protests in several Brazilian cities.
The trial against the top leader of the Brazilian right is moving forward as Brazil and the United States rebuild their bilateral relationship, strained precisely by this trial.
A campaign in the United States by Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of the former president, contributed to Donald Trump imposing punitive tariffs of 50% on Brazilian exports.
Lula met with Trump in October in Malaysia to discuss tariffs and anticipated "good agreements for both countries."
On Thursday, Eduardo Bolsonaro met in Washington with the Hungarian Prime Minister, the ultraconservative Viktor Orban, who expressed his "firm" support for the family.
"Keep fighting! Political witch hunts have no place in democracy," Orban wrote in X.
Eleconomista
%3Aformat(jpg)%3Aquality(99)%3Awatermark(f.elconfidencial.com%2Ffile%2Fbae%2Feea%2Ffde%2Fbaeeeafde1b3229287b0c008f7602058.png%2C0%2C275%2C1)%2Ff.elconfidencial.com%2Foriginal%2Fc01%2Fb2d%2F61a%2Fc01b2d61ad7e3470f0b01acb9e1deefd.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
