Bolsonaro braces for possible arrest as Supreme Court rejects appeal in coup case

SAU PAULO (Brazil): Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro is running out of legal options to avoid prison after the country’s Supreme Court on Friday rejected his appeal against a 27-year sentence for attempting to overturn the 2022 election results, France 24 reported.

Bolsonaro, who lost the election to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, was convicted in September for trying to block Lula from taking office. The court found him guilty of five crimes, including forming an armed criminal organisation, attempting to abolish democracy and organising a violent coup plot.

Four out of five judges on the Supreme Court panel voted last week to uphold his 27 years and three months prison term. The result became official at midnight on Friday.

Bolsonaro, 70, has been under house arrest since August in a separate case involving breaches of precautionary measures. Because of long-standing health problems from a 2018 stabbing, he may request to serve his sentence at home.

Prosecutors said the coup plan, which allegedly included plots to assassinate Lula, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Justice Moraes, collapsed mainly because senior military officials refused to support it.

France24 reported that a federal police agent, Wladimir Soares, suspected of being part of the assassination squad, said in an audio clip released by the Supreme Court, “We were ready to kill a lot of people. We were only awaiting orders from the president, but he backed down.”

In rejecting Bolsonaro’s appeal, Justice Moraes reaffirmed that there was a “deliberate attempt to execute a coup” under his leadership. He cited Bolsonaro’s role in instigating the January 8 attack on Brazil’s Congress and other institutions by supporters demanding military intervention.

Moraes said the 27-year sentence reflected Bolsonaro’s “high degree of culpability” as president and the grave impact of the crimes. Bolsonaro’s age had already been considered as a mitigating factor, he noted.

On the same day, a majority of judges also voted to advance a criminal case against Bolsonaro’s son, federal lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, on charges of coercion.

Eduardo, currently living in the United States, was charged in September after Brazil’s chief prosecutor accused him of lobbying for US sanctions to influence the outcome of his father’s coup trial. He has publicly claimed credit for pushing the White House to raise tariffs on Brazilian imports to 50 percent in retaliation for his father’s prosecution.

Brazil’s Federal Police have reportedly readied a detailed operational plan for Bolsonaro’s possible arrest. According to reports from Brasil 247, the strategy is designed to be “rapid and discreet” and awaits only an order from Justice Moraes.

Officials said the plan covers multiple scenarios, including potential unrest outside Bolsonaro’s Brasilia residence, rapid mobilisation of security teams, alternate convoy routes and the potential use of aircraft to reduce public visibility.

Senior police leadership is monitoring the case daily. Officers are prepared to execute the operation immediately once an arrest warrant is issued.

For now, he remains under house arrest in a separate probe examining suspected attempts to pressure the Supreme Federal Court and influence investigations linked to alleged coup-related actions. (ANI)