Brazil's Supreme Court to consider former President Bolsonaro's appeal against 27-year prison sentence

Brazil's Supreme Court began today to consider the appeal of former President Jair Bolsonaro against a 27-year prison sentence for an attempted coup.

The former far-right leader, who was president from 2019 to 2022, will not serve that sentence until he exhausts his right to appeal.

Bolsonaro, 70, was found guilty in September of leading a "criminal organization" that intended to return him to power after his leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won the October 2022 election.

Bolsonaro's legal team appealed the verdict as "deeply unjust," delivered with "ambiguities, omissions and contradictions" in the trial, and is seeking a reduction in the former president's sentence.

The appeal therefore focuses on procedural issues.

Supreme Court judges have a week to rule on the appeal and announce the decision in mid-November.

If the Supreme Court judges' decision is unfavorable to him, he can file another appeal, on the merits of his case, and if that appeal is rejected, the former president could go to prison immediately.

Due to Bolsonaro's health problems since being wounded in an assassination attempt in 2018, the court may allow him to serve his sentence under house arrest.

Bolsonaro is under house arrest and is prohibited from making public statements or using social media.

US President Donald Trump and his administration are putting pressure on the Brazilian judiciary, accusing it of unfairly prosecuting Bolsonaro, a former Trump ally.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, a top target of US authorities, has been subject to economic sanctions since late July, with Washington accusing him of "organizing a witch hunt." The sanctions were extended to the judge's wife in September.