The Supreme Court of Brazil published on Tuesday the document that rejects the first appeals filed by former President Jair Bolsonaro, which officially formalizes his 27-year and 3-month prison sentence for leading a coup conspiracy after his defeat in the 2022 elections. The decision was published in the Electronic Justice Gazette, exhausting the deadline for the former leader's (2019-2022) final appeals, as his defense has until Sunday the 23rd to appeal. The document details the joint vote of the Justices of the First Chamber of the Federal Supreme Court who denied Bolsonaro's and his inner circle's first attempts at appeal. With the publication of the document, the far-right leader's defense could attempt another appeal, although knowing it could be automatically rejected. This is an appeal only permitted when the conviction is decided by a minimal vote difference, but in Bolsonaro's case, the result was four votes in favor of conviction and only one against, meaning that possible appeal risks being archived without even being examined by the court. Currently under house arrest, Bolsonaro could be transferred to a special wing at the Papuda penitentiary in Brasilia, the city where he resides, or to a military unit in the Brazilian capital. The final decision on his destination will be made by Judge Alexandre de Moraes, the case's instructor, once all appeal instances are exhausted. Although the Supreme Court has established the practice of enforcing sentences after the refusal of second appeals, Moraes could order immediate imprisonment if he believes the defenses are acting to delay the process. Bolsonaro was found guilty of plotting a conspiracy to prevent the inauguration of the current president, the progressive Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who defeated him in the October 2022 elections. This coup, which Bolsonaro denies, culminated in the storming of the headquarters of the three branches of state power on January 8, 2023, when thousands of far-right activists tried to prompt the Armed Forces to overthrow Lula, who had taken office a week earlier.
