Brazil Judge Blocks Law Reducing Bolsonaros Prison Sentence

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has issued an order suspending the implementation of a law that could reduce prison sentences for certain individuals convicted in connection with a plot to remain in office after the 2022 presidential election.

The law, which was passed by Brazil’s Congress in December, would have applied to individuals like former President Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to 27 years in prison in September. However, the Supreme Court has ordered that the law’s implementation be put on hold until a full hearing can be convened to consider appeals challenging its constitutionality.

The law, which was vetoed by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in January but overridden by Congress in April, would have allowed for reductions in sentences for those convicted. However, lawyers representing the 71-year-old Bolsonaro have filed a new appeal with the Supreme Court, asking it to overturn what they claim is an unjust conviction.

The suspension of the law’s implementation means that requests for sentence reduction from individuals convicted under the law will be put on hold until the court has had the opportunity to decide on its constitutionality. The ruling does not affect Bolsonaro’s existing conviction and sentencing, which remains a matter of controversy in Brazil.

Source: Al Jazeera