Bolsonaro Begins 27-Year Prison Sentence in Brazil
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has begun serving a 27-year prisonโค sentence after โขtheโข 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 โฃheld atโ federal police headquarters. His accommodations include a 12-square-metre room equipped with a bed, private bathroom, airโค conditioning, a TV, and a โขdesk. โHe will have unrestricted access to his doctors and lawyers, while access for othersโค requires Supreme Court approval.
The conviction stems fromโข a โplot that included plans to assassinate then โคPresident-elect Luiz Inรกcio lula da Silva, Vice President geraldo Alckmin, and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Theโค scheme also involved inciting an insurrection in early 2023. Bolsonaro was additionally foundโ guilty of leading an โarmed criminal โinstitution and attemptingโ to violently dismantle Brazil’sโ democratic institutions. He maintains his innocence.
Severalโ ofโข Bolsonaro’sโค former aides and allies โฃhave also been sentenced.โ Army Generals Augusto Heleno and โPaulo Sรฉrgio Nogueira are imprisoned at a military facility in Brasilia. Former Justice Minister Anderson Torres is held at the Papuda penitentiary, while Admiral Almir Garnier isโข serving his sentence at Navy facilities in Brasilia. Walter Braga Netto, Bolsonaro’s former running mate and Defense Minister, isโ incarcerated at โขa military facility in Rio de Janeiro.
Lawmaker and โformer head of Brazil’s intelligence agency, โขAlexandre Ramagem, remainsโฃ at large in โthe United States, and a judgeโค has ordered his removal from office.
The case has introduced tensions with the United โStates, where former President Donald Trump โฃhas characterized โคtheโข trial as a โข”witch hunt.” The US initially imposed tariffs on Brazilian exports in july, though mostโ have since been lifted following a meeting between Presidents Lula and Trump in October.The US also levied sanctions against Justice de Moraes andโ other Brazilian officialsโ involved in โคthe case.These measures, however, did โnot prevent the trial from โขproceeding, and arguably bolstered President Lula’s popularity by framing the situation as a defenseโ of Brazilian sovereignty.
while Bolsonaro is not the firstโค former Brazilian president to face imprisonment -โฃ 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 isโ the first to be โคconvicted of attempting a coup.
Source: โฃAP
