Constitutional law professor and jurist Lênio Streck said that former president Jair Bolsonaro, sentenced to 27 years and 3 months in prison for leading a coup attempt, is expected to begin serving his sentence as early as November, once the appeals currently before the Supreme Federal Court (STF) are concluded.
In an interview with Radio BdF, Streck explained that the case is in its final stage, with only the review of embargos de declaração (motions for clarification) remaining, appeals that do not have the power to change the convictions. “Now we’re down to the embargos de declaração, the only thing left for the convicted defendants. The Supreme Court will rule on them quickly because they don’t involve oral arguments or anything like that,” he said.
According to Streck, the court will likely deliver a swift ruling, leading to the enforcement of the sentences in the second half of November. “There’s no chance at all these appeals will change anything, they’re basically delaying tactics,” he emphasized.
The jurist also criticized the possibility of the STF granting house arrest to Bolsonaro, similar to the benefit extended to former president Fernando Collor, who is serving his 8-year, 10-month sentence at home with electronic monitoring and visitation rights. Streck described that precedent as “illegal” and said the court created “a big problem” by allowing such leniency.
“The Supreme Court tried to solve the Collor problem and created a much bigger one. The problem now is that it sets a kind of precedent, and Bolsonaro will demand equal treatment,” Streck said. He argued that the Court should revisit Collor’s case and correct the mistake. “House arrest isn’t provided for by law. Now, how will the Supreme Court deal with this mess, since it created the problem itself by granting [that right] to Collor? Brazil has this habit of sweeping things under the rug. The upper class always finds a way out,” he criticized.
Streck also highlighted legal inequality in Brazil, noting that poor defendants do not receive the same treatment. “There are many people in the same conditions [as Bolsonaro and Collor] who don’t get house arrest. And worse, even if they did, many wouldn’t even have a home to go to. That’s how dramatic it is,” he said.
Disinformation and divisions within the Supreme Court
Commenting on the ruling against “Core 4” of the coup plot, whose members were convicted this week, Streck pointed out that the Supreme Court did not criminalize fake news, but rather the use of disinformation as a tool in the coup attempt.
“There is no punishment for disinformation itself, but for the way it was used,” he clarified.
Streck also commented on Justice Luiz Fux’s recent transfer from the STF’s First Panel to the Second Panel, after being the only dissenting vote in recent coup-related cases.
“He was upset because he helped convict more than 600 people involved in January 8. All those people were convicted unanimously, including by him. But when it came to the leaders, Bolsonaro and others, he diverged and came up with a very strange vote. That created a complicated atmosphere for him,” Streck analyzed.
Carla Zambelli’s extradition
In the same interview, Streck also discussed the case of Congresswoman Carla Zambelli, who was arrested in Italy. According to him, the Italian Public Prosecutor’s favorable opinion on her extradition is not yet final, but the likely outcome is that Zambelli will be sent back to Brazil.
“There’s a prosecutor’s opinion that isn’t binding, but there’s a very high chance Zambelli will be extradited to Brazil to serve her sentence,” he said.
The jurist noted that the seriousness of the accusations—including the hacking of the National Justice Council (CNJ) electronic system and an attempt to issue a fake arrest warrant against Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes—was decisive for the Italian authorities.
“That kind of thing shocks any judge in Italy. It’s a very Bolsonarist way of doing things. You can’t imagine someone in Portugal breaking into a system like that, faking documents, and still remaining a lawmaker,” Streck said.
