South Americaupdated 1h ago2 min read
Alexandre de Moraes Orders Eduardo Bolsonaro Arrest, Cancels Passport, Enforces Four-Year Sentence
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes issued arrest warrant for Eduardo Bolsonaro. Sentence mandates four years and two months in prison for coercing justice.
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Moraes orders arrest
Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes issued an arrest warrant for former lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro and ordered the immediate enforcement of his four-year, two-month prison sentence.
Moraes ordered the cancellation of Eduardo Bolsonaro’s Brazilian passport, and the order came after the conviction became final on Oct. 3 following the rejection of appeals, according to the Supreme Federal Court (STF).
Eduardo Bolsonaro, who currently lives in the US state of Texas, was sentenced in June for lobbying the Trump administration to sanction members of Brazil’s government and impose higher tariffs on the country’s exports during the trial of his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, for a 2022-2023 coup plot to illegally overturn his democratic election loss to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Moraes also ordered the Superior Electoral Court to be notified that Bolsonaro’s political rights remain suspended while the effects of the final criminal conviction remain in force.
Brazilian authorities would need to secure his return for the prison sentence to be physically carried out in Brazil, and the order instructs that he must begin serving his sentence immediately if he returns.
Extradition and election
Extradition from the United States is considered unlikely, and the U.S. government would have to approve a corresponding application. Eduardo Bolsonaro’s statement posted on his X account said, “The only practical effect of this measure, taken deliberately in the middle of the electoral process, is to further inflame tensions across the country, in a completely unnecessary manner,”. The warrant came days before the runoff between Luiz Inácio Lula da da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro, after Flávio Bolsonaro won the most votes in the first round.
Moraes ordered the Superior Electoral Court to be notified that Bolsonaro’s political rights remain suspended while the effects of the final criminal conviction remain in force. Bolsonaro was sentenced under an initial semi-open regime, along with a fine of 50 daily payments.
What the ruling changes
The Supreme Court ordered the execution of the four-year-and-two-month prison sentence against Eduardo Bolsonaro and issued an arrest warrant, while Eduardo remains in the United States. Alexandre de Moraes canceled Eduardo Bolsonaro’s Brazilian passport, and the judge’s warning said, “The accused cannot benefit from his own improper conduct by fleeing territorial sovereignty to an unknown place with the purpose of frustrating the enforcement of criminal law,”. Alexandre de Moraes issued the decision after the last appeals were rejected and the trial reached the status of res judicata, making the sentence final and unappealable.
Eduardo Bolsonaro was politically disqualified for 12 years, preventing him from running for public office until 2038. Moraes determined the finality of the sentence and ordered the withdrawal of Eduardo Bolsonaro’s passports, while the Supreme Court rejected an appeal filed to annul the conviction.