Senate to debate political amnesty bill

Brazil’s Senate was set to begin debating a bill passed by the lower house of Congress that could slash the jail term of former president Jair Bolsonaro, a move that sparked nationwide protests over the weekend.

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Bolsonaro, 70, began serving a 27-year prison sentence in November after his conviction for a botched coup bid after his 2022 election loss.

After months of jockeying by his supporters in Congress for some sort of amnesty for the far-right leader, the conservative-controlled lower house last week approved a bill that would significantly reduce sentences for several crimes, including coup d'etat.

This opens up the prospect that Bolsonaro could serve only two years in jail.

Under current rules, he is expected to serve about eight years of his sentence in effective incarceration before being eligible for a looser regime under judicial supervision, according to an estimation by the Brasilia Sentencing Enforcement Court.