BRASILIA, Sept 12: Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro has been sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison after being found guilty of orchestrating a failed military coup, the BBC reported.
The broadcaster reported that a panel of five Supreme Court justices delivered the ruling only hours after convicting him.
Corruption convict Bharati released before completing jail term
The BBC stated that the court determined Bolsonaro had led a plot to stay in power following his 2022 election defeat to left-wing rival Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Four of the justices voted to convict him, while one dissented. The ruling also bans Bolsonaro from holding public office until 2033.
Bolsonaro’s legal team, the BBC reported, described the verdict as “absurdly excessive” and vowed to file appeals. The former president, who is under house arrest after being deemed a flight risk, was absent from the final stage of the proceedings.
The BBC quoted Bolsonaro as previously saying that the case was politically motivated and intended to block him from running in Brazil’s 2026 presidential race, even though he was already disqualified from public office on separate charges. He has repeatedly labelled the prosecution a “witch hunt.”
The controversy has also drawn international attention. The BBC reported that former US President Donald Trump expressed surprise at the verdict, comparing Bolsonaro’s situation to his own legal battles and claiming, “That’s very much like what they tried to do with me.”
In a further development, the BBC stated that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denounced the Supreme Court’s decision, calling it an “unjust ruling” and warning Washington could “respond accordingly.” Brazil’s foreign ministry, the BBC noted, swiftly hit back, declaring on X that such threats would not intimidate Brazilian democracy and dismissing Rubio’s comments as ignoring the evidence presented in court.
