Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro began serving a 27-year prison sentence on Monday for attempting a coup against his rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva after exhausting all appeal options. The former far-right leader, who was in power from 2019-2022, had been under house arrest since early August but was remanded in custody on Saturday due to an "increased risk of flight" after he tried to burn his electronic gadget.
He will serve his sentence in the same Brasília federal police complex where he has been since the weekend, according to a court order issued today by Judge Alexandra de Moraes in charge of the case.
The Supreme Court found him guilty in September of heading a criminal organization that conspired to ensure that he remained in power after the victory of current leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the October 2022 elections.
According to the indictment, the coup plan, which also included the assassination of Lula, was not carried out due to a lack of support from the high military command.
The appeal by Bolsonaro's lawyers was officially rejected in mid-November.
Judge Moraes said that Bolsonaro tried to set fire to his electronic gadget after midnight on Saturday, in order to escape and attend an announced demonstration by his supporters near his home.
The former head of state's defense described it as mental confusion due to taking medication, and Bolsonaro said he was curious and later said he was "paranoid" about the medication.
"He is outraged by the way he is being persecuted. If something happens to him, we know who is responsible," his older son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, said today after visiting his father at the police station.
"It's a great cruelty, and a great risk to his health, to his life," Bolsonaro's son added.
Bolsonaro's younger brother Carlos Bolsonaro also visited him, and said he was eating little and his mental health had deteriorated.
Jair Bolsonaro (70) was recently diagnosed with skin cancer and is also suffering from the effects of a 2018 knife attack, which has led to multiple surgeries and crises.
Reuters reported earlier today that Brazil's Supreme Court ordered Bolsonaro to begin serving his sentence today.
Judge Alexandra de Moraes ordered Bolsonaro to begin serving a sentence of 27 years and three months in prison at the headquarters of Brazil's Federal Police in Brasilia, where he has been detained since Saturday, Reuters reported.
DON'T MISS IT
Bonus video:
