The 70-year-old former head of state saw all his appeals exhausted on Tuesday, November 25. He has been in pretrial detention since Saturday at the federal police headquarters in Brasília.

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has exhausted all possible appeals against his 27-year prison sentence for attempting a coup, according to a document published Tuesday, November 25, by the Supreme Court, and will therefore have to serve his sentence. A judge ordered that he serve his time in a police compound in Brasília, where he has been held in pretrial detention since Saturday.

Bolsonaro, 70, had been under house arrest since early August but was placed in pretrial detention last week for "high risk of flight", by court order.

In September, the Supreme Court found him guilty of being the head of a "criminal organization" that conspired to ensure his "authoritarian hold on power" after the victory of his left-wing rival, Lula, in the October 2022 election. His appeal was formally rejected in mid-November.

The defense team for the former Brazilian president announced on Tuesday that it would file a new appeal against his conviction for attempted coup, shortly after the Supreme Court ordered him to begin serving his sentence.

On the social network X, Paulo Cunha Bueno, one of his lawyers, deemed it "surprising" that the court considered "inadmissible an appeal that has not yet been filed." "Whatever happens, the defense will file the appeal it deems appropriate within the prescribed time limits," he added.

Uncertainty

With the Supreme Court publishing on Tuesday the document certifying that no further appeal is possible, the order to execute the sentence could be issued imminently by the judge in charge of the case, Alexandre de Moraes.

Uncertainty remains regarding where the former president (2019-2022) will serve his sentence. He has been in pretrial detention since Saturday at the federal police headquarters in Brasília.

According to Judge Moraes, Bolsonaro attempted on Saturday shortly after midnight to burn his electronic bracelet in the hope of escaping during a planned demonstration by his supporters near his home in the capital.

The defense of the former head of state cited a "state of mental confusion" due to taking medication.