Brazil’s Supreme Court has ordered former President Jair Bolsonaro to begin serving his 27-year prison sentence, after his defence team declined to file a second appeal.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes, a leading figure in the trial against Bolsonaro, made the announcement on Tuesday.

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The court indicated Bolsonaro would begin his sentence at the Federal Police headquarters in the capital Brasilia, where he is currently being held.

In September, Bolsonaro was convicted of plotting to stage a coup, in order to retain power after his defeat in the 2022 presidential election.

He was found guilty of trying to subvert the democratic rule of law, attempting a coup, participating in an armed conspiracy, causing damage to public property and contributing to the deterioration of a listed national heritage site.

He was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison. But that sentence did not begin immediately, to allow for appeals.

Bolsonaro disputes defeat

A member of Brazil’s far-right Liberal Party, known by the acronym PL, Bolsonaro was a former army captain who served nearly 27 years in the Chamber of Deputies before becoming president.

He led the country from 2019 to 2023. But critics accused him of manipulating his office to undermine Brazil’s voting system, and in June 2023, after he left office, Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court ruled he had abused his power.

Bolsonaro ran for re-election in the 2022 race, but in a run-off vote, he was narrowly defeated by left-wing leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

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The right-wing leader, however, refused to publicly concede his loss, although media reports indicated he may have done so in private in a meeting with the Supreme Court.

Instead, Bolsonaro and his allies filed a legal challenge arguing the election results were riddled with “discrepancies”.

De Moraes, at the time, rejected the complaint, citing its “total absence of any evidence” and “bad faith” arguments. He also fined Bolsonaro’s team nearly $4.3m.

Meanwhile, Bolsonaro’s supporters held protests around the country, blocking highways and attacking police headquarters in Brasilia.

The unrest came to a climax on January 8, 2023, a week after Lula was sworn in. Bolsonaro had briefly left the country, but his supporters converged on the Three Powers Plaza in Brasilia and stormed government buildings.

The riot precipitated several federal investigations. And in November 2024, the federal police issued an 884-page report detailing evidence they said showed Bolsonaro and his allies had conspired to overturn the election results.

Recordings and testimony indicated that Bolsonaro and his codefendants had hoped to prompt a military uprising to prevent Lula from taking power and force new elections.

Some military officers allied with Bolsonaro even suggested a plot to poison Lula and shoot de Moraes, according to the police findings.

A flight risk?

In February, prosecutors formally charged Bolsonaro, who was subsequently brought to trial.

But Bolsonaro’s defence repeatedly framed the charges as a political manoeuvre, and the ex-president himself has maintained his innocence.

United States President Donald Trump has also sought to pressure the Brazilian government to drop the case, imposing 50-percent tariffs on some of the country’s exports and calling the trial a “witch hunt”.

Since August, Bolsonaro has been under house arrest for fear he might attempt an escape abroad. Already, in 2024, he had spent several nights in the Hungarian embassy, stirring reports he could have been seeking diplomatic sanctuary with the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Police also recovered a letter reportedly addressed to Argentinian President Javier Milei, wherein Bolsonaro had claimed he was being persecuted and appealed for political asylum.

Earlier this month, Brazil’s Supreme Court rejected Bolsonaro’s appeal to overturn his prison sentence.

His defence team has since petitioned for the 27-year sentence to be served under house arrest on humanitarian grounds. Bolsonaro was stabbed on the campaign trail in 2018, and he continues to suffer from abdominal problems.

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But on Saturday, he was abruptly taken into police custody after he was found to have tampered with his ankle monitor.

Bolsonaro reportedly told a court officer that the medications he was taking left him feeling paranoid and had “hallucinatory” side effects. He denied being a flight risk.

De Moraes, however, signalled there were “very serious indications of a possible attempt to flee”.