Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro on Monday filed an appeal against his 27-year prison sentence for a botched coup bid after his 2022 election loss.
The lawyers of Donald Trump's ally allege "ambiguities, omissions, contradictions and obscurities" in the Supreme Court decision finding him guilty of attempting to oust President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, in a divisive trial that sparked the anger of the US President.
The Brazilian Supreme Court judges have no deadline to examine the appeal arguments, AFP reported.
Bolsonaro has been under house arrest since August. Under Brazilian law, he will not be sent to prison until all legal avenues are exhausted. If his appeal fails, Bolsonaro could request to serve his sentence under house arrest, claiming poor health.
The 70-year-old was recently diagnosed with skin cancer and was briefly admitted to a hospital in September after suffering violent bouts of hiccups, vomiting and low blood pressure.
He has had multiple health issues and operations in recent years due to complications following a 2018 stabbing in his abdomen while campaigning for president.
In May, another former president, Fernando Collor de Mello, was given permission to serve his nearly nine-year sentence for corruption at home, on grounds of ill health.
The coup plot for which Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced
{{/usCountry}}In May, another former president, Fernando Collor de Mello, was given permission to serve his nearly nine-year sentence for corruption at home, on grounds of ill health.
The coup plot for which Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced
{{/usCountry}}According to the prosecutors in the case, the 2022 couple plot envisaged the assassination of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, his vice president Geraldo Alckmin, and Alexandre de Moraes -- one of the five Supreme Court judges deciding Bolsonaro's fate.
This came after Bolsonaro lost the Presidential election that year. Prosecutors said the plan failed only due to a lack of support from military top brass.
Bolsonaro's allies in Congress had been pushing for an amnesty bill that could benefit the former president and hundreds of supporters who were convicted of storming government buildings a week after Lula took office in January 2023.
However, the initiative fizzled out after massive protests.