Brazil Senate OKs bill that could cut Bolsonaro sentence; veto promised

Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Brazil's Senate approved a bill that reduces sentences for those convicted of coup-related crimes, which could benefit former President Jair Bolsonaro and others convicted over the Jan. 8, 2023, attack on government buildings in the capital a week after President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office.

Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison over the attempted coup. Under the bill passed by Congress, his effective prison time could be reduced from decades to just over two years.

The bill, which passed the lower house last week, was approved by the Senate 48-25 and will be sent to the president for consideration, state news agency Agencia Brasil reported. Lula said Thursday he will veto the bill.

"Those who committed crimes against Brazilian democracy will have to pay for the acts committed against the country," Lula said, according to O Globo. "With all due respect to the National Congress, when it reaches my desk, I will veto it. This is no secret. The process is not over yet. We still need to identify who financed these acts."

Lula has until February to veto the proposal because of a congressional recess that begins next week. After that, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate can override by an absolute majority in each house.

The bill establishes that crimes of attacking the rule of law and attempting a coup, the charges for which Bolsonaro was convicted, when committed in the same context, would result in the application of the most severe penalty rather than the sum of both sentences.

It also shortens the time required for inmates convicted of those crimes to move from a closed prison regime to semi-open or open regimes after serving at least one-sixth of their sentence.

Under current rules, the courts estimate Bolsonaro's effective prison term at about eight years. The new law could reduce it to roughly two years, four months by altering sentencing calculations for several crimes, including attempted coup, El Tiempo reported.

The changes could also allow conditional release for more than 100 supporters imprisoned over the Jan. 8, 2023, unrest in Brasilia.

An earlier attempt to grant amnesty to those involved was rejected by the public in September. The bill again mobilized left-wing groups last weekend, when thousands of people took to the streets to protest the measure, which they described as a "hidden amnesty."

Since late November, Bolsonaro has been serving his sentence in a small room at a police facility in Brasilia. He was transferred there ahead of schedule after burning the electronic ankle monitor that was tracking his house arrest.