Bolsonaro sentenced to 27 years in prison following Brazil coup scheme

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison on Thursday, shortly after a majority of a Supreme Court panel voted to convict him on charges related to an attempted military disposition.

Four out of five of the justices had found Bolsonaro guilty of leading a conspiracy to illegally retain power after his 2022 electoral defeat to left-wing contender, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Justices found that the plot failed to enlist enough support from the military to acquire dispatch.

Bolsonaro's sentence has been deemed "absurdly excessive" by his lawyers, further stating that they would plead the fitting appeals.

Justice Cármen Lúcia found Bolsonaro guilty of all of his five charges, namely also stating on Thursday, that Bolsonaro had caused the rebellion of 8 January 2023, when thousands of his supporters vandalised the Supreme Court, the presidential palace, Congress, and other buildings in Brasília.

His lawyer left the court after he was declared guilty of such charges.

Prior to his sentencing, the 70 year-old had also been under house arrest since the beginning of August after a police report claimed that he and his son had tried to interfere in the trial, with him claiming it was arranged to prevent him from running in the 2026 presidential election, calling it a “witch-hunt”.