Brazil's supreme court (STF) today ordered former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro to begin serving his prison sentence for plotting an attempted coup.
Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years and three months. He will serve his full sentence in the federal police headquarters in capital Brasilia, where he was already jailed following a preventive arrest due to "very serious evidence" that he could try to escape on 22 November.
He had been placed on strict house arrest since early August. His defense attempted to have him serve the entire sentence at home, citing severe health problems, but all appeals did not come to fruition. The defense argued that Bolsonaro deals with permanent diseases that "demand intense medical assistance".
Bolsonaro has been hospitalized several times in the last two years due to complications following a stabbing he suffered while campaigning in 2018.
STF also barred Bolsonaro from running for any public office until 2060. He had previously been barred from any public office until 2030.
Another six people convicted in the same trial as Bolsonaro began their full sentences Tuesday, including former vice-president candidate Walter Braga Netto, STF said.
Bolsonaro's arrest leaves a window open for a more conservative presidential candidate in next year's elections to challenge current president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has already confirmed he will run for a fourth, non-consecutive term. Some early conservative options are Sao Paulo governor Tarcisio Freitas, Parana governor Ratinho Junior and some of Bolsonaro's relatives, such as his wife Michelle Bolsonaro or his son senator Flavio Bolsonaro.
The elections will take place in October.
