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Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been caught trying to escape, after which the court has ended his last hope. He has now been ordered to begin a 27-year prison sentence.
Brasilia: The last hope of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been extinguished. The Supreme Court has given the decision on Tuesday, after which Bolsonaro is going to spend the rest of his life in jail. Bolsonaro angered the court by trying to escape from jail and he was sentenced to 27 years in prison. The court has made it clear that now no appeal of the former President will be heard. Know further how he tried to escape from jail and how he lost his last hope?
What was the crime?
Jair Bolsonaro, 70, was convicted in September of plotting to overthrow leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva after 2022 elections, which also included an assassination plot. The Supreme Court had rejected his appeal against his sentence earlier this month, and the decision is now considered final.
The former army captain, who united Brazil’s conservatives to become president in 2019 and transformed the country’s politics, will now have to serve a lengthy prison sentence.
Attempt to escape from jail by breaking ankle monitor
Bolsonaro was under house arrest till Saturday, but he was detained by the police in the capital Brasília when he was trying to break an ankle monitor with a soldering iron. After which he could not be tracked and he would be successful in escaping.
Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said there were ‘very serious indications of a possible escape attempt’ during an event organized by Bolsonaro’s son outside his home. Pointing towards the US Embassy, he expressed suspicion that Bolsonaro was trying to flee to seek political asylum.
Bolsonaro’s defence: ‘effects of drugs’
At a hearing in Brasília on Sunday, Bolsonaro defended himself against allegations of breaking an ankle monitor, saying the drugs caused him to suffer a manic episode, according to a Supreme Court document obtained by AFP. He also claimed that he had no intention of running away and there was no break in the bracelet strap.
