Brazil’s Bolsonaro begins 27- year jail term for coup bid

AFP | Brasília

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Brazil’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro to begin serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a failed coup, after he exhausted all appeals.

The brash former army captain who fired up Brazil’s right and reshaped the country’s politics is ending a divisive career jailed in a small room at police headquarters equipped with a TV, mini-fridge, and air-conditioning.

Bolsonaro, 70, was convicted in September over a scheme to stop Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office as president after the 2022 elections that included a plot to kill the veteran leftist.

Prosecutors said the scheme failed only due to a lack of support from military top brass.

The Supreme Court rejected an appeal to his sentence earlier this month, and on Tuesday ruled the judgment was now final.

The court also ordered a military tribunal to decide whether Bolsonaro should be stripped of his captain’s rank.

Bolsonaro had been under house arrest until Saturday, when he was detained at police headquarters in the capital Brasilia for tampering with his ankle monitor using a soldering iron.

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said there were signs Bolsonaro was planning to flee during a planned vigil organized by his son outside his home.

The justice pointed to the location of the nearby US embassy, and Bolsonaro’s close relationship with US President Donald Trump, suggesting he may have tried to escape to seek political asylum.