Brazil justice orders Jair Bolsonaro and allies to start prison terms

RIO DE JANEIRO (CN) — Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Tuesday ordered the immediate start of prison sentences for former President Jair Bolsonaro and six other defendants convicted in September for attempting to overturn the country’s 2022 election results.

The ruling formalized the case’s final disposition and directed the enforcement of the sentences while the court’s First Panel prepares to review the order in an extraordinary virtual session.

Bolsonaro, sentenced to 27 years and three months for leading the criminal organization that sought to keep him in power after his electoral defeat, will remain at the Federal Police headquarters in Brasília. The 12-square-meter room includes a bed, a television, air conditioning, a private bathroom and a desk.

He has been held there since Saturday under a preventive detention order. De Moraes said the sentence must be carried out in the same special room where Bolsonaro is currently held, citing a 2018 precedent that kept former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Federal Police facilities during his imprisonment.

De Moraes also scheduled a custody hearing for Wednesday at the Federal Police building and ordered continuous medical care with unrestricted access for Bolsonaro’s doctors.

The execution order also applies to former ministers and former military commanders identified as part of the core group behind the plot.

Augusto Heleno, a retired general and former head of the Institutional Security Office, and Paulo Sérgio Nogueira, a retired general and former defense minister, were taken to the Army’s Planalto Military Command to begin serving sentences of 21 and 19 years, respectively.

Almir Garnier, a former Navy commander, will serve his 24-year sentence at the Navy’s Radio Station in Brasília.

Walter Braga Netto, a retired general and former chief of staff and defense minister, remains at the Army’s 1st Division in Rio de Janeiro, where he is serving a 26-year sentence.

Anderson Torres, former justice minister, was sentenced to 24 years and is expected to serve his time at the Federal District’s 19th Military Police Battalion, known as Papudinha, inside the Papuda prison complex.

Federal lawmaker Alexandre Ramagem, sentenced to 16 years, one month and 15 days, is a fugitive in the U.S. De Moraes issued a warrant for his arrest, ordered his inclusion in the national detention monitoring system and notified the lower house to begin the process for loss of his parliamentary seat.

The Supreme Court found all defendants to be part of a coordinated effort to discredit the electoral system, apply pressure on state institutions and create conditions for a state of exception.

According to the court’s ruling, the criminal organization operated from 2021 to January 2023, using government agencies to monitor opponents, spreading attacks on the voting system, applying pressure on the judiciary, promoting unfounded allegations about electronic ballots, drafting coup-related documents, and preparing political and logistical actions to block the inauguration of the elected government or remove it after the transition.

The sequence of actions culminated in the Jan. 8, 2023, attacks on the headquarters of Brazil’s three branches of government in Brasília.

On Nov. 14, the First Panel rejected all appeals filed by the defendants, saying the motions merely repeated arguments already dismissed during the judgment. With that decision, no further challenges were allowed.

The final disposition also triggered secondary effects of the convictions, including an eight-year ban on running for office after completion of the sentence.

For Bolsonaro, that extends his ineligibility to 2060, as he had already been barred by the electoral court through 2030.

Courthouse News reporter Marília Marasciulo is based in Brazil.