Brazil’s Federal District Criminal Enforcement Court (VEP) on Tuesday night confirmed that conservative former President Jair Bolsonaro will finish serving his 27 years and three months prison sentence on November 4, 2052.
The Brazilian state-owned outlet Agência Brasil reported that VEP forwarded its formal sentence calculation certificate to Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF) Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the rapporteur of the “coup” plot trial against Bolsonaro.
De Moraes, and other STF Justices convicted Bolsonaro in September of multiple “crimes against democracy” in a trial process in which he was found guilty of allegedly conspiring with over 30 other individuals to stage a “coup” and overturn the results of the controversial 2022 presidential election.
Bolsonaro, 70, was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison. The trial process formally concluded in late November. Presently, Bolsonaro remains detained at the regional Superintendency of the Federal Police in Brasília since late November following a tampering incident involving his electronic anklet bracelet.
VEP’s sentence certificate reportedly states that Bolsonaro will be eligible for semi-open detention on April 23, 2033, with the possibility of requesting parole on March 13, 2037. The court also factored in its calculations the months Bolsonaro spent under strict house arrest since August.
“The terms for progression in the prison system may still be reduced due to other discounts provided for by law, such as reading books and taking courses in prison,” Agência Brasil reported.
The Brazilian outlet Metrópoles detailed that, according to Brazilian criminal enforcement law, unless there is a court order on humanitarian grounds, a convicted individual may progress to a semi-open prison regime only if both “objective” criteria such as minimum time served and “subjective” criteria such as good prison conduct are met.
“The information contained in this certificate is extracted from the Computerized System based on collection forms and criminal background certificates,” VEP’s ruling reportedly read. “This information is subject to change and does not guarantee the automatic granting of benefits, as it is essential to conduct a procedural analysis of each specific case.”
At press time, the Brazilian top court has not determined in which prison Bolsonaro will serve his sentence. Justice Alexandre de Moraes denied a late November request filed by his legal team seeking house arrest benefits for Bolsonaro, citing his multiple health conditions and skin cancer diagnosis. Bolsonaro’s legal team filed a new appeal against the conviction last week.
CNN Brasil reported in November that since Bolsonaro was convicted by the highest court in Brazil, Bolsonaro will be banned from politics for an additional eight years after the end of the sentence — as such, if he serves the entirety of his 27 year sentence, Jair Bolsonaro will only be able to run for office again in 2060, when, if he is still alive, would be 105 years old.
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