BRASILIA (Reuters) -A majority of judges on a panel of Brazil's Supreme Court voted on Friday to reject former President Jair Bolsonaro's appeal challenging his 27-year prison sentence for plotting a coup
to remain in power after the 2022 presidential election.
Justices Flavio Dino, Alexandre de Moraes and Cristiano Zanin voted to reject the appeal filed by Bolsonaro's lawyers. The remaining panel member has until November 14 to cast a vote. The panel has five seats, but one has been open since late October.
Lawyers for Bolsonaro, who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and will only begin serving his sentence once all appeals are exhausted, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the panel majority.
FORMER PRESIDENT UNDER HOUSE ARREST
Bolsonaro has been under house arrest for about three months for violating precautionary measures in a separate case. His lawyers are expected to request that he be allowed to serve his sentence under similar conditions due to health concerns.
In September, four of the five judges on the Supreme Court panel voted to sentence Bolsonaro to 27 years and three months in prison for five crimes, including participating in an armed criminal organization, attempting to violently abolish democracy, and organizing a coup.
Typically, defendants sentenced by Brazil's Supreme Court need at least two justices to diverge on the ruling to request an appeal that could significantly change the decision.
With only one judge dissenting, Bolsonaro's lawyers filed a lesser motion, requiring clarification or review of specific parts of the conviction, including a reduction in prison time.
The far-right leader was placed under house arrest in early August for violating precautionary measures related to his alleged attempts to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to interfere in his criminal case.
Trump has called the case against Bolsonaro a "witch hunt" and retaliated by imposing steep tariffs on U.S. imports of Brazilian goods, sanctioning the judge overseeing the case, and revoking visas of several Brazilian officials.
Bolsonaro ended up not being charged by Brazil's prosecutor general for attempts to persuade Trump's interference, but a Supreme Court justice kept the former president under house arrest, saying his continued freedom posed risks demonstrated by his conviction and repeated violation of precautionary measures.
However, one of Bolsonaro's sons, lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, who is currently in the U.S., has been criminally charged in the case, and the Supreme Court's panel is set to vote whether to turn him into a defendant later this month.
(Reporting by Ricardo Brito; Writing by Isabel Teles; Editing by Natalia Siniawski, Rod Nickel)
