Brazil’s Supreme Court will take up Jair Bolsonaro’s request for a criminal review of his 27-year-and-three-month coup-attempt sentence only after the October 25 presidential runoff, in which his eldest son Flavio Bolsonaro faces incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Rapporteur Kassio Nunes Marques, who holds one of the court’s 11 seats since his 2020 appointment by Bolsonaro himself, said a decision before the vote could interfere with the electoral process, and intends to bring the case to the full court on no fixed date. Bolsonaro’s lawyers filed the review last week, seeking to annul the sentence he is serving under house arrest, citing alleged chain-of-custody irregularities in digital evidence, missing original phone files, and the fallout from the financial scandal touching some justices including trial judge Alexandre de Moraes.
Brazil Supreme Court to weigh review of Bolsonaro sentence after runoff
Brazil's Supreme Court will consider Jair Bolsonaro's request to review his 27-year prison sentence for coup attempt only after the October 25 presidential runoff between his son Flavio and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Why it matters: The court is deliberately keeping a decision on the former president's liberty out of the final stretch of a runoff where his son carries the family name on the ballot.
Data as of October 7, 2026, via RPP Noticias, in Spanish. Single-sourced; uncorroborated by a second outlet in this pass.
Sources
- Brazil Supreme Court will analyze review of Jair Bolsonaro's sentence after presidential elections · RPP Noticias · 2026-10-07