Congressman Glauber Braga (C) is removed from the lower house of parliament before the vote on a bill to reduce the sentence of former president Jair Bolsonaro, in Brasília on December 9, 2025. SERGIO LIMA / AFP
Chaotic scenes erupted in Brazil's Congress on Tuesday, December 9, as a lawmaker disrupted lower house efforts to vote on a bill that could slash former president Jair Bolsonaro's 27-year prison sentence for a coup plot. Bolsonaro's defense team, meanwhile, has asked the Supreme Court to authorize his release for a surgical procedure due to his deteriorating health, according to documents obtained by AFP.
As they requested weeks ago, his lawyers again sought for the court to allow the ex-president to serve his sentence at home for "humanitarian" reasons.
The far-right former leader began serving his sentence in November after his conviction for a scheme to stop President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office after the 2022 elections. Bolsonaro's supporters in the conservative-majority Congress have for months weighed different options, including a possible amnesty for the 70-year-old that fizzled out after countrywide protests.
"Since we were unable to build the political climate and secure the necessary votes to pass the amnesty, the first step to achieving our goal will be the reduction of sentences," congressman Sostenes Cavalcante told a press conference.
