Former Brazil President Bolsonaro sentenced to 27 years for planning military coup

Brazil’s Supreme Court sentenced former president Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years and three months in prison on Thursday after convicting him of plotting a military coup to remain in power following his 2022 election defeat.

A five-justice panel handed down the sentence hours after finding Bolsonaro guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in office after losing to left-wing rival Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Four justices voted to convict whilst one voted to acquit.

The court also barred the 70-year-old from running for public office until 2033. Bolsonaro, under house arrest after being deemed a flight risk, did not attend the final phase of the trial in person.

Defence calls sentence “absurdly excessive”

Bolsonaro’s lawyers called the sentence “absurdly excessive” and said they would file “appropriate appeals”. They are expected to argue for house arrest instead of imprisonment and seek a reduced sentence.

Legal experts said appeals may prove difficult, as they are normally only possible if two of the five justices vote to acquit.

Bolsonaro has previously called the proceedings a “witch hunt” designed to prevent him running in the 2026 presidential election, despite already being barred from public office on separate charges.

US criticises verdict as Brazil defends judiciary

US President Donald Trump called the verdict “very surprising” and compared it to his own legal troubles. “That’s very much like they tried to do with me. But they didn’t get away with it at all,” Trump said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Brazil’s Supreme Court had “unjustly ruled to imprison former President Jair Bolsonaro” and threatened to “respond accordingly to this witch hunt”.

Brazil’s foreign ministry responded swiftly, posting on X that “threats like the one made today by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a statement that attacks a Brazilian authority and ignores the facts and the compelling evidence on record, will not intimidate our democracy”.

Conspiracy began before election defeat

Prosecutors said Bolsonaro began plotting to stay in power long before his election defeat, proposing a coup to military commanders and spreading unfounded doubts about the electoral system.

They also said Bolsonaro knew of a plan to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, as well as a Supreme Court justice.

The justices found Bolsonaro had led a conspiracy and convicted seven co-conspirators, including senior military officers, two former defence ministers, a former spy chief and former security minister.

Plot culminated in government building storming

Whilst the plot failed to gain sufficient military support, it culminated in Bolsonaro supporters storming government buildings on 8 January 2023. Order was quickly restored and more than 1,500 people were arrested.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversaw the trial, said Brazil had come close to descending into authoritarianism. “We are slowly forgetting that Brazil almost returned to its 20-year dictatorship because a criminal organisation, comprised of a political group, doesn’t know how to lose elections,” he said.

Justice Cármen Lúcia, the sole woman on the panel who cast the decisive third guilty vote, compared the attempted coup to a “virus” that can kill society if left to fester.

The sole dissenting voice was Justice Luiz Fux, who argued in an 11-hour speech that accusations against Bolsonaro were unfounded.

(Source: BBC)