Court upholds former President Collor’s prison sentence in 6–4 Vote
Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court on Monday (28) voted 6 to 4 to uphold the prison sentence of former president Fernando Collor de Mello, who was sentenced to 8 years and 10 months for corruption and money laundering in a case stemming from Operation Car Wash.
Collor’s arrest was ordered by Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Thursday (24), in a monocratic decision later submitted to the full court. Justices Flávio Dino, Edson Fachin, Luís Roberto Barroso, Cármen Lúcia, and Dias Toffoli sided with the rapporteur, forming the majority to uphold the arrest.
The final tally was reached just hours before the trial session closed at 11:59 p.m. on Monday. The last four justices to vote—André Mendonça, Luiz Fux, Gilmar Mendes, and Nunes Marques—ruled in favor of the former president’s release.
Justice Cristiano Zanin declared himself unable to take part in the trial, citing his prior involvement as a lawyer in Operation Car Wash cases before ing the Supreme Court.
Bribery
Collor was convicted by the Supreme Court in May 2023 after a trial spanning seven plenary sessions. The justices unanimously found that, as former president, senator, and leader of the Brazilian Labor Party (PTB), he orchestrated political appointments at BR Distribuidora—a Petrobras subsidiary—and received BRL 20 million in illicit payments through company contracts. The offenses occurred between 2010 and 2014, according to the indictment.
The justices disagreed, however, on the sentence length, opening the door to successive appeals that delayed the arrest. Although the conviction was upheld in November, four justices—Dias Toffoli, Gilmar Mendes, André Mendonça, and Nunes Marques—again voted to reduce the sentence to four years, citing errors in the sentence calculation. The defense filed another appeal based on these divergences.
According to Moraes, the case’s rapporteur, this latest appeal refers only to the length of the sentence and does not affect the execution of the arrest.
Collor is currently held at the Baldomero Cavalcanti de Oliveira prison in Maceió, where, as a former president, he is serving his sentence in a special wing.
The defense requested house arrest, citing serious health issues including sleep apnea, neuropsychological disorders, and Parkinson’s disease. Following a hearing with the lawyers, Moraes granted the defense 48 hours to submit detailed medical documentation and reports on the former president’s condition.
After the deadline, it will be up to the rapporteur to conduct an initial assessment of whether home detention should be granted on humanitarian grounds. The matter will also be submitted to the plenary for final judgment.
