Heraldo de Madrid - Brazil court suspends law aimed at reducing Bolsonaro sentence

NYSE - LSE

RBGPF	3.42%	62.87	$
RYCEF	5.91%	18.11	$
CMSC	0.04%	22.34	$
BCC	0.63%	71.59	$
CMSD	0.27%	22.32	$
BCE	-0.99%	24.04	$
NGG	-0.33%	81.57	$
GSK	-1.55%	52.23	$
RIO	0.51%	105.89	$
AZN	-0.83%	177.27	$
RELX	-2.74%	32.84	$
VOD	-3.53%	15	$
BTI	-2.06%	61.06	$
BP	-2.86%	41.59	$
JRI	0.89%	12.78	$

Brazil court suspends law aimed at reducing Bolsonaro sentence

BOULEVARD 09.05.2026

Brazil court suspends law aimed at reducing Bolsonaro sentence / Photo: Vitor SOUZA - AFP

A Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Saturday suspended implementation of a law that could reduce the prison sentence of former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro until legal challenges against it are heard, according to a document obtained by AFP.

Text size:

Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the suspension of the law until the Supreme Court holds a full hearing on appeals challenging its "constitutionality," the document said.

In September, Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison by the Supreme Court, which found him guilty of conspiring to remain in power despite his 2022 electoral defeat to leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The law, passed in December by the conservative-majority Congress, was blocked by Lula the following month.

However, lawmakers led by Bolsonaro's allies overturned the presidential veto in late April, and the measure was finally enacted on Friday.

The new law, which applies to all those convicted like Bolsonaro for coup plotting, is intended to reduce the waiting period for sentence reductions, potentially significantly reducing prison terms.

However, defense attorneys of those convicted must file a request for the Supreme Court to recalculate the terms of sentence reductions on a case-by-case basis.

In practical terms, Moraes's order on Saturday suspends the review of these cases until the full Supreme Court meets to decide whether the law is constitutional, after being petitioned by left-wing parties.

The sentence reductions provided for by the law are also intended to benefit those convicted of participating in riots on January 8, 2023, when a mob of Bolsonaro supporters ransacked government buildings in Brasilia, a week after Lula's inauguration.

According to the Supreme Court, this assault was an integral part of the coup plot.

Bolsonaro, 71, is currently serving his sentence under house arrest for health reasons.

On Friday, his lawyers filed a new appeal, asking the Supreme Court to overturn his conviction in order to "rectify a miscarriage of justice."

The former president, who was in office from 2019 to 2022 and has been barred from running again, has designated his eldest son Flavio as his political successor to contest the October election against Lula, who is seeking a fourth term at age 80.

"He should have been our presidential candidate," the 45-year-old senator said of his father at a Saturday event with political allies where he promised to "retire Lula."

Recent polls show Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro neck-and-neck.

O.Rivas--HdM

Featured

Restoring Kyiv cathedral hit by Russia could take two years: director

It could take around two years to repair Kyiv's Dormition Cathedral and its surrounding monastery complex after they were damaged in a Russian attack, its director said Tuesday.

Vast areas of coral reef could resist climate change: study

In the crystalline waters off Kenya's coast, coral reefs are thriving -- evidence of a rare good news story in the battle to protect oceans from the ravages of climate change.

Eight dead in fiery US bomber crash in California: military

Eight people died when a US B-52 bomber crashed and erupted into a catastrophic fire shortly after takeoff at an air force base in California on Monday, officials said.

'They want to destroy us': Shock and anger as Russian attack sets Kyiv cathedral ablaze

Father Makariy, a high-ranking clergyman at Kyiv's Pechersk Lavra monastery complex, was woken at around 5:00 am with a huge roar -- the cathedral at the heart of one of Orthodox Christianity's most important sites had been set on fire in a Russian attack.