Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro appeals his 27-year prison sentence
Rio de Janeiro (AP): Lawyers for Brazilian former President Jair Bolsonaro filed an appeal to reduce his prison sentence for attempting a coup after his 2022 electoral defeat.
Judges in September convicted Bolsonaro of trying to overthrow democracy and sentenced him to 27 years and three months in jail. He has been under house arrest since August.
In an 85-page document sent to the Supreme Court on Monday and shared with The Associated Press on Tuesday, lawyers said that the conviction and sentence entailed “profound injustices.”
Lawyers argued there were “ambiguities, omissions, contradictions and obscurities” in the court's decision.
Bolsonaro has denied wrongdoing. He was convicted of attempting a coup after losing the 2022 race to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in a plot that prosecutors alleged included plans to kill Lula.
He was found guilty on other charges including participating in an armed criminal organisation and attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law.
In their appeal, lawyers argued Bolsonaro should not be convicted of both organising a coup and attempting to violently abolish democracy, on the grounds that the two charges overlap and therefore cumulative penalties are unjust.
They also cited Justice Luiz Fux, who was the only dissenting vote on the five justice panel that convicted Bolsonaro, and argued that even if Bolsonaro had attempted a coup, he “deliberately interrupted the course of events” and did not go through with it.
Lawyers filed motions of clarification, which seek to correct a flaw in the reasoning of a decision rather than change it.
João Pedro Padua, a law professor at the Fluminense Federal University, said that this kind of appeal is very unlikely to reduce Bolsonaro's sentence.
To file an appeal that could substantially modify the decision, the Supreme Court usually requires at least two dissenting votes.
There is no limit on how many motions for clarification can be filed, but the Supreme Court may deem successive filings an attempt to delay the final judgment.
Such a strategy is “risky” for Bolsonaro's lawyers, as they “could give the Supreme Court an excuse to declare the judgment final right away,” Padua said.
Seven other close aides were convicted alongside Bolsonaro, and all of them apart from Mauro Cid, who signed a plea deal, have filed appeals, the Supreme Court said in a statement on Tuesday.
Justices will decide on the appeals between November 7 and November 14, the court added.
Bolsonaro will only start serving time once appeals are exhausted.
The trial made global headlines. US President Donald Trump ordered a 50 per cent tariff on Brazilian imported goods and cited in part Bolsonaro's case, which he called a “witch hunt.”
That triggered a sharp deterioration in US-Brazil relations, which experts described as the lowest point in their more than 200-year history.
Relations have improved. Lula and Trump spoke on the phone then met last weekend in Malaysia at the ASEAN summit.
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2nd WT20I: Shafali, spin trio do star turns in India''s seven-wicket win
Visakhapatnam (PTI): Shafali Verma hit a blistering unbeaten 69 as India made short work of a paltry target to outclass Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Women’s T20 International here on Tuesday.
India now lead the five-match series 2-0 after another one-sided victory, having restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 128 for 9 through a collective display of disciplined bowling from the spin trio of seasoned Sneh Rana, ably complemented by young spinners Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani.
During the chase, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (14) fell cheaply but Shafali, enjoying new found confidence after a stellar show in the World Cup final, sent the bowlers on a leather-hunt during her 34-ball knock, winning it for her team in just 11.5 overs.
The hosts have now completed back-to-back successful chases within 15 overs which speaks volumes about the unit's sky-high confidence.
Shafali's innings had 11 punchy boundaries apart from a maximum.
The floodgates opened when left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera bowled a few flighted deliveries and Shafali would step out everytime to hit her over extra cover. Her footwork against slow bowlers was immaculate whether stepping out to loft the ball or rocking back to punch or pull.
Seeing her confidence, the newly appointed Delhi Capitals skipper Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 15 balls) also attacked as the duo added 58 runs in just 4.3 overs.
By the time Rodrigues was out trying to hit one six too many, the match as a contest was over. Shafali completed her half-century off just 27 balls and completed the formalities in a jiffy.
Earlier, off-spinner Rana, who got a look-in after Deepti Sharma was ruled out due to fever, showed her utility keeping the Lankan batters under tight leash with figures of 1 for 11 in 4 overs, including a maiden which certainly is a rarity in T20 cricket.
Charani, who made an impression during India's ODI World Cup triumph, took 2 for 23 in her quota of overs, while Vaishnavi after an impressive debut in the opening encounter, finished with 2 for 32, not letting the Islanders get easy runs in her second spell.
The last six wickets fell for just 24 runs, but what stood out during India’s bowling effort was their superb ground fielding. After a patchy show in the previous game, the improved sharpness in the field resulted in three run-outs.
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu (31 off 24 balls) looked in good nick as she deposited length deliveries from seamers Kranti Gaud and Arundhati Reddy over the ropes but it was Rana, who kept her quiet by repeatedly pitching on good length.
Unable to manoeuvre the strike and with the big hits suddenly drying up, Athapaththu chanced her arm at another delivery in which Rana had shortened the length slightly.
Not having transferred the weight into the lofted shot, Athapaththu's hoick was pouched cleanly by Amanjot Kaur at long-off.
This was after Athapaththu's opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne (1) had offered a simple return catch to Gaud.
Hasini Perera (22 off 28 balls) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (33 off 32 balls) did stitch a stand of 44 but they could never set the tempo against the Indian spin troika.
Once Hasini offered a tame return catch off a Charani full-toss, Sri Lankans never recovered and lost wickets in a heap towards the end.
