Brazil’s Lula vows to veto bill slashing Bolsonaro’s 27-year prison term
The proposed law could see the ex-president spend just over two years behind bars for an attempted coup
Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Thursday that he would veto a bill that could significantly reduce the 27-year prison sentence of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was arrested in November for attempting a coup.
The Senate passed the bill late on Wednesday, following approval by the Chamber of Deputies.
“With all due respect to the National Congress, when it reaches my desk, I will veto it,” Lula told journalists in Brasilia, noting that those who committed crimes against Brazilian democracy “will have to pay for their acts”.
The text is also expected to be challenged at the Supreme Court.
The bill reduces the final sentences of defendants convicted under multiple charges stemming from the coup attempt, including Bolsonaro.
The former president’s lawyers appealed to the Supreme Court after his conviction, saying his prison term was excessive.