Less than three months after his historic conviction for an attempted coup against his rival Lula, Brazil’s far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro began serving a 27-year prison sentence on Tuesday. The former head of state (2019-2022), aged 70, during his tenure challenged Latin America’s largest democratic institution. He found himself locked in a small cell equipped with air conditioning, a television and a mini-fridge.
The Supreme Court considered that all appeals had been exhausted, a theory challenged by the defense. Lawyer Paulo Cunha Bueno considered the court’s decision “shocking” and announced on social networks Jair Bolsonaro had been under house arrest since early August, but was placed in pre-trial detention on Saturday due to being a “high risk of escape” after trying to burn his electronic bracelet with a soldering iron.
To serve his sentence, he will remain at the same federal police compound in Brasilia as of this weekend, according to a court order issued Tuesday by judge Alexandre de Moraes, who is handling the case. Therefore, he escaped criticism and harshness in prisons such as in Papua, as well as in the capital, where many political figures are imprisoned.
In September, the Supreme Court found him guilty of being the leader of a “criminal organization” that conspired to ensure the “authoritarian maintenance of power” following the victory of current left-wing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the October 2022 elections. According to prosecutors, the planned coup that led to Lula’s assassination did not materialize due to a lack of support from the military high command. The first appeal from Bolsonaro’s lawyers was formally rejected in mid-November.
Tries to escape by burning her bracelet
According to Judge Moraes, Bolsonaro tried to burn his electronic bracelet shortly after midnight on Saturday in the hope of escaping during a demonstration planned by his supporters near his home. The meeting opened “the possibility of trying to escape to one of the embassies close to his residence,” the judge said, noting his proximity to the United States chancellor’s office. Jair Bolsonaro is an ally of Donald Trump. Decrying a “witch hunt” against him, the American president in retaliation imposed additional penalties on Brazil, before reducing them significantly after a meeting with Lula in October.
To explain the electronic bracelet episode, the defense of the former head of state described a “state of mental confusion” caused by taking medication, and he himself admitted to “paranoia”. He denied any intention to flee. “He is angry (…) about the abuse he experienced. If something happens to him, we know who is responsible,” said his eldest son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, on Tuesday morning, after visiting his father at the police station.
Jair Bolsonaro is particularly suffering from the stabbing attack he suffered in 2018, which caused him to undergo multiple operations and severe hiccups. He is the fourth former president to be imprisoned since the end of the military dictatorship (1964-1985). The most recent case is Fernando Collor (1990-1992). In May, the Supreme Court authorized him to serve more than eight years in prison for domestic corruption, citing health reasons. Jair Bolsonaro’s lawyer asked that his client receive the same treatment.
Convicted of corruption, Lula remained imprisoned for 580 days in 2018-2019 at the federal police station in Curitiba (south), in conditions similar to those under which Bolsonaro will serve his sentence. In 2021, the Supreme Court overturned Lula’s sentence due to procedural flaws.
Jair Bolsonaro’s legal situation means his camp has no potential winner of the 2026 presidential election, while the leftist leader has said he will run for a fourth term.
