Brazil's Supreme Court reaches majority to reject ex-Prez Bolsonaro's appeal against jail term

Brazil’s Supreme Court on Friday reached a majority to uphold a 27-year prison sentence against former president Jair Bolsonaro for plotting a coup.

The 70-year-old far-right firebrand was found guilty by the same court in September of attempting to prevent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking power.

Prosecutors said the plan failed only due to a lack of support from military top brass.

Bolsonaro’s lawyers argued there had been “profound injustices” and “contradictions” in his conviction, and sought to have his prison sentence reduced.

Three of the four Supreme Court judges weighing the appeal voted to reject it on Friday.

However, the result is not considered official until a deadline set by the court at midnight on November 14.

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Alexandre de Moraes, who presided over the trial, was the first to cast his vote electronically, and wrote that arguments by Bolsonaro’s lawyers to have his sentence reduced were “without merit”.

Moraes, in a 141-page document seen by AFP, rejected defense claims they had been given an overwhelming amount of documents and digital files, preventing them from properly mounting their case.

He also rejected an argument that Bolsonaro had given up on the coup, saying it failed only because of external factors, not because the former president renounced it.

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Moraes reaffirmed that there had been a deliberate coup attempt orchestrated under Bolsonaro’s leadership, with ample proof of his involvement.

He again underscored Bolsonaro’s role in instigating the January 8 assault on Brazil’s democratic institutions, when supporters demanded a military takeover to oust Lula.

‘Ruling justified’

Moraes ruled that the sentence of 27 years and 3 months was based on Bolsonaro’s high culpability as president and the severity and impact of the crimes. Moraes said Bolsonaro’s age had already been considered as a mitigating factor.

“The ruling justified all stages of the sentencing process,” Moraes wrote.

Two other judges voted in the same way shortly afterward.

Bolsonaro has been under house arrest since August. Under Brazilian law, he will not be sent to prison until all legal avenues are exhausted.

If this is rejected, his lawyers could file another appeal, but the court could refuse to hear it and Bolsonaro could be jailed.

Because of health problems stemming from a stabbing attack in 2018, Bolsonaro could ask to serve his sentence under house arrest.

In May, another former president, Fernando Collor de Mello, was given permission to serve his nearly nine-year sentence for corruption at home, on grounds of ill health.

Prosecutors say the plot at the heart of the case envisaged the assassination of Lula, his vice-president Geraldo Alckmin, and the judge Alexandre de Moraes.

The trial against Bolsonaro angered his ally, US President Donald Trump, who imposed sanctions on Brazilian officials and punitive trade tariffs.

However, in recent months tensions have thawed between Washington and Brasilia, with a meeting taking place between Trump and Lula and negotiations to reduce the tariffs.

An initiative from Bolsonaro supporters in Congress to push through an amnesty bill that could benefit him fizzled out after massive protests around the country.

Brazil’s large conservative electorate is currently without a champion heading into 2026 presidential elections, in which Lula, 80, has said he will seek a fourth term.