Brazil's former president, Jair Bolsonaro, has been sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison. The verdict was handed down by the Brazilian Supreme Court, which found him guilty of the attempted coup of 2022, along with seven of his associates. The far-right former president was also convicted of attempting to abolish the rule of law through violence and of leading a criminal organisation aimed at imposing a dictatorship on the country.

It is the first time a former Brazilian president has been convicted of an attempted coup, despite the country having a contemporary history rich in similar episodes. Bolsonaro has announced he will appeal, and in the meantime will remain under house arrest.

27 years for Bolsonaro

Four judges voted in favour of the conviction, one against. Enough to reach the required majority and hand down the sentence: 27 years and three months in prison for Jair Bolsonaro. The former Brazilian president, whose term lasted from 2019 to 2022, was found guilty of the attempted coup of 2022, which took place in the aftermath of his electoral defeat against current president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Bolsonaro had never openly conceded defeat and had not attended the inauguration ceremony of his successor, alleging electoral fraud. The former president had been accused of having devised a plan together with his inner circle to block the transfer of power, by declaring a state of siege that would have justified military intervention and the freezing of democratic institutions. In January 2023, a crowd of Bolsonaro supporters stormed the main seats of power in Brasilia, a flashback to what happened in the United States at Capitol Hill in 2021 following Donald Trump's electoral defeat.

The Supreme Court judges also found Bolsonaro guilty of attempting to abolish the rule of law through violence and of having led a criminal organisation that sought to plunge Brazil into dictatorship. Among the others convicted are seven of his close associates, including General Walter Braga Netto, former Minister of Defence and Chief of Staff, former Navy Commander Almir Garnier, and former Justice Minister Anderson Torres.

Social tensions rise in Brazil

The ruling of the Brazilian Supreme Court carries historic significance for the country. Never before had a former president and his associates been convicted for an attempted coup.

CPAC @CPAC

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President Trump on the political persecution of Former President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro:

"He was a good President of Brazil and it's very surprising that that could happen. That's very much like they tried to do with me, but they didn't get away with it at all."

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The trial and subsequent conviction have sparked deep controversy both nationally and internationally. Bolsonaro's supporters claim that the conviction is a means of barring him from the 2026 presidential elections, in which he had wished to stand despite being banned from public office until 2030. The progressive leanings of the Brazilian Supreme Court judges have further fuelled accusations of a politically motivated verdict. In several Brazilian cities there were demonstrations in solidarity with the former president, while from the United States his friend and ally Donald Trump attacked the Brazilian judiciary.

Bolsonaro has announced he will appeal against the ruling. In the meantime, he will remain under house arrest.