Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison by the Supreme Court for plotting a coup to remain in power after losing the election in 2022.
In a big blow to the populist far-right movement created by him, Brazil’s top court had earlier convicted Bolsonaro of plotting a coup.
A panel of five judges on Brazil’s Supreme Court has found Bolsonaro guilty of attacking democracy, making him the first former president in the country’s history to face such a conviction. The ruling also drew criticism from US President Donald Trump.
“This criminal case is almost a meeting between Brazil and its past, its present and its future,” Justice Carmen Lucia referred to the country’s past marked by military coups and attempts to undermine democracy, before casting her vote to convict Bolsonaro.
She added that there was ample evidence that Bolsonaro acted “with the purpose of eroding democracy and institutions.”
Out of the five judges, four voted to convict Bolsonaro of five crimes – organising a coup, attempting to violently abolish democracy, taking part in an armed criminal organisation, and damaging government property and protected cultural assets. Only one judge voted to acquit him.
Donald Trump reacts to Jair Bolsonaro’s conviction
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump expressed surprise over the conviction of Bolsonaro by a Supreme Court majority on Thursday.
Previously, Trump called the case against the former Brazilian president a “witch hunt” and hit the country with tariff hikes, the revocation of visas for most members of Brazil’s high court, and sanctions against the presiding judge.
