Brazil ‘s Supreme Court today jailed former President Jair Bonsolaro For 27 years.
The ceremonial sentencing today followed his conviction yesterday by the court.
A panel of five judges had yesterday found him guilty of attempting to torpedo the country’ s democracy after he lost the 2022 presidential poll to the current leader, Luna da Silva.
Four of the five judges entered the guilty verdict, while one exonerated him, claiming that the former leader did not have a clement environment to defend himself.
The former President was not at the trial and the sentencing today, but his supporters, said to number in millions, had begun demonstrating in his support and calling his prosecution a witch hunt.
Many of them are calling for amnesty for him, saying jailing him would further polarise the country already fragmented politically.
The trial of the former leader has been a matter of great interest among stakeholders.
While opinion polls consistently showed that the vast majority of Brazilians backed his trial, his vocal supporters, including those offshore, especially American President, Donald Trump, had sought to rubbish it, tagging the process as politically- tainted.
Trump imposed a 50 per cent trade tariff on Brazil for the arrest and prosecution of the former leader who is his staunch ally.
A bill is already before the Legislature of Brazil seeking to enact a law for an amnesty for the former leader.
