Brazil's ex-President Bolsonaro could transfer to semi-open regime in 2032

Jailed former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro could become eligible for a semi-open prison regime in 2032, after serving about six years and ten months of the 27-year-and-three-month sentence handed down by the Supreme Federal Court for attempting a coup, legal experts said Tuesday.

Bolsonaro's conviction became final after all appeals were exhausted. He was sentenced for attempted coup, participation in an armed criminal organization and the violent abolition of the democratic rule of law.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered Bolsonaro to be held in a 12-square-meter cell at Federal Police headquarters in Brasilia after authorities reported he tried to cut off his electronic ankle monitor in an alleged escape attempt.

Under Brazil's Penal Execution Law, prisoners convicted of violent offenses must serve 25 percent of their sentence before they can request transfer to a semi-open regime.

Mauricio Dieter, a criminology professor at the University of Sao Paulo (USP), said Bolsonaro's total sentence amounts to 9,945 days, making him eligible after 2,486 days – roughly six years and 10 months.

Bolsonaro, who served as Brazilian president from 2019 to 2022, is also barred from holding public office by Brazil's electoral court.