Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the suspension of the law until the Supreme Court conducts a full hearing on appeals challenging its “constitutionality,” the document stated. In September, Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison after the Supreme Court found him guilty of conspiring to remain in power following his 2022 electoral defeat to leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The law, approved in December by Brazil’s conservative-majority Congress, was vetoed by Lula the following month. However, lawmakers allied with Bolsonaro overturned the presidential veto in late April, and the measure officially came into effect on Friday. The new legislation, which applies to individuals convicted of coup plotting, was designed to shorten the waiting period required for sentence reductions, potentially leading to significantly reduced prison terms.

Under the law, defence attorneys for convicted individuals must submit requests to the Supreme Court for sentence recalculations on a case-by-case basis. In practical terms, Moraes’s ruling suspends the review of such requests until the full court determines whether the law is constitutional, following petitions filed by left-wing political parties.

The sentence reductions outlined in the law could also benefit individuals convicted for participating in the January 8, 2023 riots, when supporters of Bolsonaro stormed and vandalised government buildings in Brasília, one week after Lula’s inauguration. According to the Supreme Court, the attack formed part of the broader coup plot.

Bolsonaro, 71, is currently serving his sentence under house arrest for health-related reasons.  (Bssnews)