Brazil's Supreme Court has ordered that right-wing former president Jair Bolsonaro begin serving his prison sentence of 27 years and three months for plotting a coup after he lost the last election. Justice Alexandre de Moraes ruled that the case had reached its final judgement and that no further appeals were possible. Bolsonaro, 70, was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He will begin serving his sentence in a federal police jail cell in the capital, Brasilia, where he has been detained since Saturday after being deemed a flight risk and removed from home detention.
At a hearing on Sunday, Bolsonaro admitted trying to open his ankle monitor with a soldering iron until he came to his senses, court documents show. He said he had had no intention of fleeing and blamed medicine-induced paranoia for damage he caused to the monitor. Justice Moraes mandated full-time medical care be given to Bolsonaro, whose medical team has previously said he is suffering from worsening health.
Supreme Court justices said in September that Bolsonaro had known about plans to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin. The conspiracy failed to gain military support, and Lula was sworn in without incident on January 1, 2023. However, a week later, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed government buildings in Brasília, leading to around 1,500 arrests. The justices found that rioters were incited by Bolsonaro, whose plan was for the military to return him to power.
Additionally, Bolsonaro was barred from running for public office until 2060, eight years after the end of his sentence. He has referred to the trial as a witch hunt aimed at preventing him from contesting the 2026 presidential election.
At a hearing on Sunday, Bolsonaro admitted trying to open his ankle monitor with a soldering iron until he came to his senses, court documents show. He said he had had no intention of fleeing and blamed medicine-induced paranoia for damage he caused to the monitor. Justice Moraes mandated full-time medical care be given to Bolsonaro, whose medical team has previously said he is suffering from worsening health.
Supreme Court justices said in September that Bolsonaro had known about plans to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin. The conspiracy failed to gain military support, and Lula was sworn in without incident on January 1, 2023. However, a week later, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed government buildings in Brasília, leading to around 1,500 arrests. The justices found that rioters were incited by Bolsonaro, whose plan was for the military to return him to power.
Additionally, Bolsonaro was barred from running for public office until 2060, eight years after the end of his sentence. He has referred to the trial as a witch hunt aimed at preventing him from contesting the 2026 presidential election.
