Brazil: Bolsonaro Begins Serving 27-Year Prison Sentence for Planning a Coup

SadaNews - Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, 70 years old, has begun serving a 27-year prison sentence after the Supreme Court upheld his conviction for planning a coup against the elected government.

Judge Alexandre de Moraes issued a ruling for the sentence to be served at the Federal Police headquarters in Brasilia, where Bolsonaro has been held since last Saturday.

This decision came after the Supreme Court published an official document yesterday, Tuesday, confirming that the conviction is final and cannot be appealed.

The judgment against the 70-year-old Bolsonaro came after four out of the five judges voted in favor of his conviction for planning to overthrow his opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who defeated him in the 2022 presidential elections.

Bolsonaro had been under house arrest since last August, but the court ordered his detention due to signs of a possible escape attempt during a demonstration his supporters planned near his residence in the capital.

Judge de Moraes noted that Bolsonaro deliberately and knowingly violated electronic monitoring devices and burned his electronic bracelet, which reinforced the court's decision to detain him.

The background of the case dates back to last September when the Supreme Court convicted Bolsonaro of leading a "criminal organization" aimed at ensuring his authoritarian hold on power after his leftist opponent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won the October 2022 elections, in a case that sparked widespread controversy nationally and internationally regarding attempts to threaten democracy in Brazil.