Brazil’s Supreme Court panel unanimously rejects Bolsonaro’s appeal, upholding 27-year sentence

The justices on Brazil’s Supreme Court panel reviewing former President Jair Bolsonaro’s appeal unanimously rejected his request on Friday.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the case’s rapporteur, rejected all defense arguments, calling them “unfeasible,” and said there were no omissions in the sentencing. He was later followed by Justices Flávio Dino, Cristiano Zanin and Cármen Lúcia.

The panel has until Nov. 14 to submit their votes, and the decision won’t be finalized until then. Although unlikely, justices could change their votes before then.

Bolsonaro was convicted in September of attempting a coup following his 2022 electoral defeat and was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison. He has been under house arrest since August.

His legal team filed an appeal on Oct. 28 seeking to reduce the sentence. The defense argued that Bolsonaro should not be convicted of both organizing a coup and attempting to violently abolish democracy, claiming the charges overlap and that cumulative penalties are unjust.