credit, Reuters
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- author, Mariana Alvim*
- scroll, From BBC News Brazil in Sao Paulo
The defense of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) on Friday (21/11) submitted an application to the Federal Supreme Court (STF) for the former president to serve his sentence from the beginning under house arrest.
Bolsonaro’s lawyers say that because of his health conditions, prison could represent a “life risk” for the former president – who, they say, suffers from a “serious illness of multiple nature (cardiac, lung, gastrointestinal, nervous, and tumors).”
The defense document is addressed to Minister Alexandre de Moraes, the action rapporteur of the STF who condemned Bolsonaro in September.
Lawyers Celso Sanchez Velarde, Paulo Amador da Cunha Bueno and Daniel Betamio Tesser say the possibility of closing the prison would have “serious consequences” because Bolsonaro has numerous health problems, needs to comply with routine treatments and may need emergency care.
They point to “the absolute incompatibility between such conditions and the prison environment, which does not have the necessary infrastructure for adequate emergency and emergency management.”
The document lists several diseases and ailments that afflict Bolsonaro, such as reflux, which can have consequences for the lungs; “Unconquerable sighs”; melanoma. High blood pressure. And severe sleep apnea.
They also highlight his age, 70 years old.
The defense submitted several tests for Bolsonaro with the motion and cited his hospital history.
“(The tests) show that serious or sudden illness is not a matter of ‘if’ but of ‘when,’” the document states.
Bolsonaro’s defense is asking for “house arrest on humanitarian grounds,” as the house arrest granted to seriously ill convicts is known, which is required by law.
The lawyers cite examples of previous decisions taken by the STF and Minister Alexandre de Moraes, which granted house arrest to people with health problems, such as former President Fernando Collor.
After being convicted of corruption, Collor was allowed to serve his sentence at his home in Alagoas, due to a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease.
Could Bolsonaro start serving his sentence soon?
credit, Reuters
Bolsonaro has not yet started serving his sentence and his possible imprisonment has not been ordered because his actions must pass through a so-called final and non-appealable decision, when the possibility of appealing against the decision has been exhausted.
The final ruling in the Bolsonaro case may be issued soon.
On Tuesday (11/18), the ruling was published that formalizes the ruling of the first body that unanimously rejected Bolsonaro’s appeal against his conviction, the so-called clarification ban.
The defense has until Sunday (11/23) to file a second appeal, known as bans.
As criminal Marina Coelho Araujo, a professor at Inspr and vice-president of the São Paulo Bar Institute, told BBC News Brasil, this second appeal could be decided more quickly, only by Moraes, if it is seen as a maneuver by the defense to delay the implementation of the sentence.
In this case, it is possible that the Minister will determine the end of the process and determine where Bolsonaro should be arrested.
Another option is for Moraes to refer the case back to the First Committee’s virtual plenary session, which would require more days to rule on the appeal.
The defense can still try to bring another type of appeal, violation of the ban, which serves to question decisions made without consensus.
But the Supreme Court is likely to reject this appeal without analyzing its content. The Court’s current case law stipulates that only decisions of bodies with at least two dissenting votes can be challenged by violating the ban. In the case of Bolsonaro, the result was 4 votes to 1 to convict him.
Bolsonaro has already been in pretrial detention at his home in Brasilia since the beginning of August. Moraes considered at the time that the former president failed to adhere to the precautionary measures imposed on him.
If Bolsonaro’s prison is ordered to close, one possible destination is the Pabuda prison complex in Brasilia. The place is the target of complaints of overcrowding and unstable structure.
Another possibility is that he will be trapped in a room in the National Front’s control body in the Federal District, as happened with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva when he was convicted in Operation Lava Jato.
*With information from Mariana Schreiber, BBC News Brazil in Brasilia
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