Source: France 24 [French state media]
“Brazil’s Supreme Court announced a 17-year jail term Thursday for the first defendant tried and convicted over the storming of the seats of power by supporters of far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro. After a trial that began only Wednesday, the court’s 11 justices ruled unanimously to convict 51-year-old Aecio Pereira, with a majority finding he had committed serious crimes including an attempted coup when he stormed the floor of the Senate on January 8, as thousands of Bolsonaro supporters rioted in a bid to oust leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Overwhelming security, the mob also invaded the presidential palace and the high court itself, smashing windows, throwing furniture into fountains, vandalizing artwork and turning the Senate’s central dais into a slide.” (09/14/23)