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Jair Bolsonaro convicted on five charges tied to 2022 election defeat
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Brazil Supreme Court ruling sparks unrest and global political fallout
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US slams trial as “witch-hunt” while Brazil defends judicial independence
Brazil Supreme Court look has sentenced former President, Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years and three months in prison after convicting him on five charges linked to an attempted coup following his 2022 electoral defeat to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The ruling, delivered on Thursday, came after four out of five justices found the former far-right leader guilty of trying to subvert democracy to remain in power.
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Justice Carmen Lucia declared there was overwhelming evidence that Bolsonaro acted “with the purpose of eroding democracy and institutions.”
The sentence, originally scheduled for Friday, was handed down immediately after the final vote.
The court also convicted seven close allies, including his 2022 running mate Walter Braga Netto, former Defence Minister Paulo Sergio Nogueira, ex-aide Mauro Cid, and four other senior officials tied to the conspiracy.
Bolsonaro’s lawyers denounced the outcome as “excessive and disproportionate,” vowing to appeal both domestically and at international courts.
His son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, insisted his father remained defiant, saying supporters in Congress would push an amnesty bill to undo the ruling.
The verdict has triggered political shockwaves beyond Brazil. Former US President Donald Trump denounced the judgment as a “witch-hunt,” imposing punitive tariffs on Brazilian imports, sanctioning presiding Justice Alexandre de Moraes, and cancelling visas for members of the court.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed Trump, branding the ruling a human rights violation.
Brazil’s Foreign Ministry swiftly rejected Washington’s position, warning it would not bow to external pressure. Meanwhile, Bolsonaro’s loyalists staged mass protests in Brasília, claiming the sentence was politically motivated.
The case marks an extraordinary turn for the ex-army captain who rose to power in 2018 on an anti-establishment wave, often praising Brazil’s past military dictatorship.
His downfall comes three years after refusing to accept defeat, spreading false claims about electronic voting, and openly predicting his fate would be “arrest, death, or victory.”
The Supreme Court ruling not only bars Bolsonaro from contesting elections until 2030 but also places Brazil’s democratic institutions under global scrutiny, with unrest expected as his political base rallies against the sentence.
