By Manuela Andreoni , Luciana Novaes Magalhaes and Ricardo Brito
BRASILIA, Sept 12 (Reuters) – Brazil’s Supreme Court found former President Jair Bolsonaro guilty on Thursday of plotting a coup to remain in power after he lost the 2022 elections, a conviction carrying a sentence of 27 years and three months.
Bolsonaro, a 70-year-old former army captain, has very narrow avenues of appeal in Brazil to avoid going to prison in the capital Brasilia.
WHAT ARE HIS LAWYERS PLANNING?
Following the ruling, Bolsonaro’s lawyers said the ruling was a mistake and the case was not handled properly. They called the punishment far too harsh and said they will appeal the ruling, possibly reaching out to international courts.
CAN HE APPEAL BEFORE THE SUPREME COURT?
Only one of five justices on the Supreme Court panel that decided the case broke with his peers and voted to acquit Bolsonaro of the charges he faced, which included taking part in a criminal organization and trying to violently abolish democracy.
Typically, defendants sentenced by Brazil’s Supreme Court need at least two justices to diverge on the ruling to ask for an appeal that could significantly change the decision.
With only one judge dissenting, Bolsonaro’s lawyers may only manage to appeal for a shorter prison sentence or ask that he serve the sentence under house arrest.
Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro stands at his home while under house arrest, amid the final phase of Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro’s trial, accused of plotting a coup after his electoral defeat, in Brasilia, Brazil, September 3, 2025. REUTERS/Diego Herculano/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab
WILL HE GO TO PRISON?
Bolsonaro is already under house arrest for allegedly courting the interference of U.S. President Donald Trump, who imposed a steep tariff on Brazilian goods and sanctioned the judge overseeing the case he called a “witch hunt.”
The Supreme Court’s sentence ordered Bolsonaro to serve time in prison. However, his lawyers could argue on appeal that, given his age and health, Bolsonaro should remain under house arrest. The former president has been hospitalized repeatedly due to complications from a stabbing during the 2018 election campaign.
It could take over a month for the court to publish its ruling, triggering a five-day deadline for lawyers to file a motion requesting changes to the sentence.
The former president will only start serving time once the court hands down a final ruling, after appeals are exhausted.
WHERE COULD HE DO TIME?
If the court maintains its decision, Bolsonaro could serve time in a federal police building, a military facility or a penitentiary in Brasilia called Papuda.
Observers in Brasilia have suggested that the last option would be the most humiliating, as several politicians served time there for corruption convictions. Bolsonaro won the 2018 presidential election running under an anti-corruption banner.
Still, Bolsonaro is not expected to spend more than a few years entirely locked up. The laws governing prison sentences in Brazil allow convicts to spend daylight hours out of prison after serving part of their sentences, depending on the gravity of their crimes.
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Manuela Andreoni is Reuters’ chief correspondent in Brazil. She writes about politics, economics, the environment, and culture in one of the world’s most vibrant democracies. She was previously a climate and environmental reporter at The New York Times. Andreoni, like all journalists at Reuters, works hard to keep her sources safe, and their names confidential when needed. She is committed to reflecting the diversity of perspectives that shape all stories she covers.
Ricardo Brito has covered Brazilian politics for over two decades, including five presidential elections, an impeachment, and Car Wash, one of the world’s largest corruption scandals. Brito joined Reuters in 2017, covering politics, courts, offenses, Indigenous communities, and the environment. Recently, he has focused on investigations into the alleged attempted coup against Brazilian democracy in 2022 and crime in the Amazon rainforest. He won two well-known Brazilian awards, Abril (2008) and Estadao (2015), and was a finalist for ‘Breaking News of the Year’ in 2022 for coverage of Brazil’s presidential bid. He once dreamed of being a basketball star, but has since resigned to being a Lakers fan.