The first panel of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) of Brazil today published its ruling on the appeals against the sentence that convicted former president Jair Bolsonaro and six other accused persons for the attempted coup d’état.

The document records the votes of the STF justices.

Following its publication, the five-day period for the defence to present new appeals begins.

The requests for clarification were rejected by the STF last week, maintaining the sentence against Bolsonaro of 27 years and three months in prison.

Six other convicted individuals also appealed, but their appeals were not accepted by the judges.

Now, the legal teams can present new requests for clarification. However, it is very rare for the Supreme Court to accept this demand.

The defence can also present so-called dissenting minority votes. Nevertheless, the tendency is for these to be rejected, as there is an understanding in the court that they can only be admitted if the sentence includes a dissenting minority vote from at least two justices.

In Bolsonaro’s case, only one magistrate, Luiz Fux, voted against the conviction.

With this, the reporting judge, Justice Alexandre de Moraes, can declare the case final and order the commencement of the sentences.

The magistrates highlight in the sentence that the decision recognised the existence of a criminal organisation that attempted a violent conspiracy and was led by Bolsonaro.

«This same criminal structure was used, following the defeat in the 2022 elections, to commit the crime of Coup d’État, as defined in article 359-M of the Penal Code,» culminating in the extremely violent criminal acts of 8 January 2023, states the ruling.

Likewise, «the appealed sentence fundamentally recognised that the accused Jair Messias Bolsonaro acted as the leader of the criminal structure and received extensive contribution from members of the highest spheres of the Federal Government and the Armed Forces, using the structure of the Brazilian State to implement an authoritarian power project,» points out the text.

Of the other six accused, the exception is Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid, former aide-de-camp to Bolsonaro, who reached an agreement with the General Prosecutor’s Office and managed to reduce his sentence to two years under an open regime.

Alongside the former president, among the accused are military personnel, former officials and close political allies, all identified by the General Prosecutor’s Office as part of the so-called core one or crucial nucleus of the coup plot.

This group is said to have played a central role in the planning and execution of actions aimed at reversing the results of the 2022 elections, which confirmed the current ruler Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as the winner.