Bolsonaro’s Defense Team Plans More Appeals After 27-Year Prison Sentence
In a bold move, the lawyers for former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro have vowed to fight back against his shocking 27-year-and-three-month prison sentence. They announced on Thursday that they’ll file every possible appeal, even taking the battle to international courts if needed.
This comes right after Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court dealt a major blow. Four out of five justices ruled that Bolsonaro tried to stage a coup, convicting him on serious charges. The decision has sparked heated debates across Brazil about democracy and justice.
Bolsonaro’s attorneys, Celso Vilardi and Paulo Amador da Cunha Bueno, slammed the ruling in a strong statement. They argued the case should’ve gone to a lower court or the full 11-justice Supreme Federal Court, not just the smaller First Panel. They also complained about the tight deadline to review key evidence, calling it unfair.
The drama unfolded quickly. Back on September 11, Justices Carmen Lucia and Cristiano Zanin voted to convict Bolsonaro. Then, on Tuesday, Justices Alexandre de Moraes and Flavio Dino joined them, sealing the guilty verdict. Only Justice Luiz Fux dissented, voting for acquittal on Wednesday.
So, what exactly did Bolsonaro get convicted for? The court nailed him on five big counts: plotting a coup d’état, trying to violently overthrow Brazil’s democratic rule of law, joining an armed criminal group, causing aggravated damage, and wrecking protected heritage sites. The case kicked off on September 2, and it needed a majority from the five-justice panel to stick.
At 70 years old, Bolsonaro is already under house arrest as he awaits the next steps. His team can still appeal to the full Supreme Federal Court, giving him a shot at turning things around.
In the midst of all this, current Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva weighed in with a pointed comment. He said Bolsonaro deserves the right to defend himself – a chance Lula himself was denied back in 2018 when he got arrested on corruption charges. That case against Lula was later thrown out after courts ruled the anti-corruption Operation Car Wash was politically driven.
As Brazil watches closely, this high-stakes legal battle could reshape the country’s political landscape. Stay tuned for updates on Bolsonaro’s coup attempt case and the ongoing appeals.
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