The justices on Brazil's Supreme Court panel reviewing former President Jair Bolsonaro's appeal unanimously rejected his request on Friday. Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the case's rapporteur, rejected all defense arguments, calling them "unfeasible" and saying there were no omissions in the sentencing, per the AP. He was later followed by Justices Flavio Dino, Cristiano Zanin, and Carmen Lucia. The panel has until Nov. 14 to submit their votes, and the decision won't be finalized until then. Although unlikely, justices could change their votes before that date.
Bolsonaro was convicted in September of attempting a coup following his 2022 electoral defeat and was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison. He has been under house arrest since August. His legal team filed an appeal on Oct. 28 seeking to reduce the sentence, arguing that Bolsonaro shouldn't be convicted of both organizing a coup and attempting to violently abolish democracy, claiming the charges overlap and that cumulative penalties are unjust.
De Moraes stated there was sufficient evidence to prove Bolsonaro was aware of the coup plot that aimed to keep him in power. "It was also demonstrated that the appellant acted freely and knowingly to spread false information about the electronic voting system and to draft a coup decree, which constituted the practice of a coup d'etat and a violent attempt to abolish the rule of law," he said. Bolsonaro has denied wrongdoing. He will only start serving time once all appeals are exhausted.
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