Bolsonaro Begins 27-Year Prison Sentence in Brazil
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has begun serving a 27-year prison sentence after the Supreme Court persistent his appeals had been weary. He was convicted, alongside several allies, of attempting to overthrow brazil’s democracy following his defeat in the 2022 presidential election.
Bolsonaro is currently being held at federal police headquarters. His accommodations include a 12-square-metre room equipped with a bed, private bathroom, air conditioning, a TV, and a desk. He will have unrestricted access to his doctors and lawyers, while access for others requires Supreme Court approval.
The conviction stems from a plot that included plans to assassinate then President-elect Luiz Inácio lula da Silva, Vice President geraldo Alckmin, and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The scheme also involved inciting an insurrection in early 2023. Bolsonaro was additionally found guilty of leading an armed criminal institution and attempting to violently dismantle Brazil’s democratic institutions. He maintains his innocence.
Several of Bolsonaro’s former aides and allies have also been sentenced. Army Generals Augusto Heleno and Paulo Sérgio Nogueira are imprisoned at a military facility in Brasilia. Former Justice Minister Anderson Torres is held at the Papuda penitentiary, while Admiral Almir Garnier is serving his sentence at Navy facilities in Brasilia. Walter Braga Netto, Bolsonaro’s former running mate and Defense Minister, is incarcerated at a military facility in Rio de Janeiro.
Lawmaker and former head of Brazil’s intelligence agency, Alexandre Ramagem, remains at large in the United States, and a judge has ordered his removal from office.
The case has introduced tensions with the United States, where former President Donald Trump has characterized the trial as a ”witch hunt.” The US initially imposed tariffs on Brazilian exports in july, though most have since been lifted following a meeting between Presidents Lula and Trump in October.The US also levied sanctions against Justice de Moraes and other Brazilian officials involved in the case.These measures, however, did not prevent the trial from proceeding, and arguably bolstered President Lula’s popularity by framing the situation as a defense of Brazilian sovereignty.
while Bolsonaro is not the first former Brazilian president to face imprisonment - Michel Temer and lula da Silva have both been incarcerated, and Fernando Collor de Mello is currently under house arrest pending a corruption trial – he is the first to be convicted of attempting a coup.
Source: AP