Brazil Court Rejects New Bolsonaro Appeal in Coup Conviction Case

A Brazilian Supreme Court judge on Friday rejected a fresh appeal by jailed former president Jair Bolsonaro against his coup conviction, ruling it inadmissible, according to a court document seen by AFP.

Bolsonaro, 70, began serving a 27-year prison sentence in November after the country’s highest court ruled that he had exhausted all available appeals. Despite that decision, his lawyers filed a new appeal on the merits of the case three days after his imprisonment.

Bolsonaro’s earlier failed legal challenge cited what his defense described as “ambiguities, omissions and contradictions” in the ruling.

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who presided over Bolsonaro’s trial, said the latest appeal could not be considered because it required at least two judges to have voted against the conviction. Only one of the five judges on the Supreme Court panel dissented.

The far-right former president, who served from 2019 to 2022, was convicted of leading a scheme to prevent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office after Bolsonaro lost his re-election bid. Bolsonaro has denied any wrongdoing, insisting he is the victim of political persecution.

Meanwhile, Brazil’s conservative-controlled Congress this week passed legislation that could reduce Bolsonaro’s sentence to just over two years. President Lula has pledged to veto the bill, though Congress has the authority to override his decision.

On Friday, responding to a request from Bolsonaro’s legal team, the Supreme Court authorized his transfer to a hospital in Brasilia for surgery to treat recurring hiccups and an inguinal hernia. Police said an official medical examination confirmed that Bolsonaro has a hernia requiring elective surgical repair.

Medical experts recommended that the procedures be carried out “as soon as possible,” citing the impact of Bolsonaro’s condition on his sleep and eating habits, as well as an increased risk of complications.

Bolsonaro has a history of abdominal problems stemming from a stabbing attack during his 2018 election campaign and has undergone multiple surgeries since then.

His lawyers also sought permission for him to serve his sentence under house arrest on health grounds, but Justice de Moraes rejected that request on Friday.

Bolsonaro had previously been under house arrest until shortly before the start of his prison term, when authorities detained him after he damaged his ankle monitoring bracelet with a soldering iron — an act the court interpreted as an attempted escape. Bolsonaro later said he was acting under medication-induced paranoia.