Supreme Court Justice Kassio Nunes Marques has taken a significant step by initiating a criminal review of the conviction imposed on former President Jair Bolsonaro in the so-called coup plot case
This measure opens the possibility of reviewing or even overturning the 27-year and three-month prison sentence applied to the former president.
Last Wednesday, Nunes Marques, who is acting as rapporteur for the request presented by Bolsonaro’s defense, granted a 20-day period for the Attorney General of the Republic, Paulo Gonet, to present his official statement on the case.
This is a standard procedure that allows the Attorney General’s Office to take a position before the process advances to trial.
The defense filed the appeal in early May, seeking not only the annulment of the conviction but also Bolsonaro’s complete acquittal.
In simple terms, a criminal review is an exceptional legal instrument used when it is alleged that there were serious errors in the previous trial, even after all other appeals have been exhausted.
In the document, Bolsonaro’s lawyers claim that the process revealed a “judicial error in its most serious sense,” which would justify the Supreme Court’s intervention to correct the decision.
They argue that the former president gave no orders or instructions related to the events of January 8th, and that there is no concrete evidence directly linking him to the facts for which he was convicted.
Among the main points raised by the defense are important procedural issues.
The lawyers question the fact that the trial took place in the First Chamber of the Supreme Court, and not in the full plenary session of the Court, as would be appropriate for a former president of the Republic.
They argue that this compromised the breadth of the case analysis.
Furthermore, they allege a violation of their right to a fair trial, as they did not have full and timely access to all the evidence in the investigation, which allegedly prejudiced their right to due process and a full defense.
Another central point is the plea bargain of Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid, Bolsonaro’s former aide-de-camp.
The defense is requesting the complete annulment of this collaboration, arguing that it was neither voluntary nor truthful, and that it served more as a mechanism to incriminate the former president.
According to the lawyers, evidence derived from this plea bargain should also be considered invalid.
The appeal also requests that the case be referred to the full Supreme Court for a broader analysis by all the justices.
According to the Supreme Court’s internal regulations, this criminal review will be judged by the Second Panel, composed of Justices André Mendonça, Nunes Marques, Gilmar Mendes, Dias Toffoli, and Luiz Fux.
Two of them, Nunes Marques and André Mendonça, were appointed by Bolsonaro during his term, which may influence the discussion environment, although the decisions always depend on the merits of each argument.
It is important to highlight that, although the review represents a new chance for reassessment, legal analysts consider this type of appeal difficult to succeed, as it requires a clear demonstration of serious nullities or errors that compromise the justice of the conviction.
Bolsonaro is currently serving his sentence under house arrest for health reasons and is closely following the progress of the case.
This movement in the Supreme Court reignites the debate about the handling of cases of great political repercussion in the Supreme Court and about the limits between the exercise of judicial power and the guarantee of fundamental rights, such as due process of law.
The Attorney General’s Office’s statement and the next steps of the Second Chamber will be decisive in determining whether the conviction will be upheld or whether there will be room for a thorough review.
The case continues to attract national attention, as it involves not only the figure of a former president, but also sensitive institutional issues about how the justice system deals with high-profile political leaders.
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Published in 05/30/2026 08h20
Text adapted by AI (Grok) and translated via Google API in the English version. Images from public image libraries or credits in the caption.
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