Defense of Bolsonaro backs down and withdraws request to suspend 27-year sentence
Bolsonaro's defense withdraws request to suspend 27-year sentence after petition to STF. Understand what happens now with the criminal review of the former president.
The defense of former president Jair Bolsonaro withdrew on Thursday (24), from the request to suspend the execution of the sentence of 27 years and three months of imprisonment imposed by the Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF). The request had been presented to Minister Kassio Nunes Marques a few hours earlier, in the process that seeks the revision of the conviction related to the attempted coup after the 2022 elections.
The lawyers filed the request for suspension at 9:49 a.m. and filed the withdrawal at 12:21 p.m., about two and a half hours later. The document sent to the Supreme Court did not present justification for the change of decision.
Despite the withdrawal of the request to interrupt the fulfillment of the sentence, the criminal review continues in progress. The defense maintains the request for review of the conviction, which has not yet been brought to trial.
Bolsonaro's defense questions trial by the First Class of STF
The main argument presented by the lawyers is that Bolsonaro should have been tried by the plenary of the Supremo Tribunal Federal, and not by the First Class, a collegiate group of five ministers.
According to the defense, the crimes attributed to the former president would have occurred during the exercise of the presidential mandate, a circumstance that, in the understanding of the lawyers, would require the analysis of the case by the plenary of the Court.
The issue had already been discussed during the trial of the attempted coup in September 2025. The First Class rejected the argument by four votes to one. Only Minister Luiz Fux voted in favour of the thesis presented by the defense.
In the request presented on Thursday, the lawyers also argued that the continuation of the fulfillment of the sentence could cause irreversible losses to Bolsonaro if the criminal review resulted in the annulment of the conviction.
The request sought to interrupt the execution of the sentence until a final decision on the criminal review. However, the defense decided to withdraw this request before Minister Nunes Marques analyzed the merits of the request.
Bolsonaro remains under house arrest
Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced in September 2025 by the First Class of STF to 27 years and three months in prison for crimes related to the attempted coup d’état.
The former president was arrested in November of the same year and subsequently, in March 2026, received authorization to serve his sentence under house arrest for health reasons.
Currently, Bolsonaro remains in his residence, in the Jardim Botânico neighborhood, in Brasilia.
With the withdrawal of the request for suspension of the sentence, there is no change in the form of fulfillment of the sentence. The criminal review continues under the report of Minister Nunes Marques, with no definitive judgment so far.
