Brazil's top court convicts Eduardo Bolsonaro of courting US interference
A panel of Brazil’s Supreme Court convicted congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro and sentenced him to four years and two months in prison for seeking to enlist the United States in pressuring Brazil’s judiciary over the prosecution of his father, Al Jazeera reported . Three of the four justices voted to convict, with one vote pending. Justice Cristiano Zanin wrote that the conduct “clearly threatened Brazilian authorities” and amounted to coercion of the justice system.
Prosecutors said Eduardo, a federal deputy and son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, ran a campaign to push President Donald Trump into pressuring Brazil to drop the charges against his father. The case unfolded alongside real US measures: Washington imposed 50 percent tariffs on Brazilian goods and sanctioned Justice Alexandre de Moraes, citing Jair Bolsonaro’s trial as politically motivated — steps President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva condemned as foreign interference.
The verdict deepens the legal jeopardy facing the Bolsonaro family, coming after the former president’s own 27-year sentence for plotting to remain in power after his 2022 election defeat. It also tests how far a foreign government’s economic pressure can shield a defendant whose domestic courts treat that same lobbying as a crime.