Brazil judge halts law that could reduce ex-President Bolsonaro's 27-year sentence
Axios (Tổng hợp từ Al Jazeera English)
A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has temporarily blocked a new law that could reduce former President Jair Bolsonaro's 27-year prison sentence for a 2022 coup plot. The ruling stays the law's application until the full court reviews its constitutionality.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes issued a ruling suspending a new law that critics say could pave the way for reducing the 27-year prison sentence of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro was convicted for his role in a coup plot following his loss in the 2022 election.
The ruling, issued on Saturday local time, will remain in effect until the full Supreme Court can hold a hearing to review challenges to the law's constitutionality.
Bolsonaro, a far-right former president, was sentenced by the Supreme Court to 27 years in prison last September. However, a law passed by Brazil's Congress, dominated by conservative lawmakers, in December is seen as potentially applying to him and others convicted in the same plot, providing a basis for sentence reduction.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva vetoed the bill in January, but Bolsonaro's allies in Congress voted to override the president's decision in late April.
Plaintiffs then asked the Supreme Court to strike down the law, arguing it was unconstitutional. Justice de Moraes' decision essentially suspends any requests for sentence reduction based on the law until the court reaches a final ruling.
The move comes as Bolsonaro's lawyers filed a new appeal with the Supreme Court on Friday, seeking to overturn what they called a "miscarriage of justice." The 71-year-old's conviction and sentence remain contentious in Brazil, with allies decrying it as a political witch hunt and opponents hailing it as necessary accountability.
