Brazil convicts Jair Bolsonaro's son of pursuing US help in father's legal battle

Eduardo Bolsonaro called the conviction "baseless and senseless". Brazil convicts Jair Bolsonaro's son of pursuing US help in father's legal battle Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Brazilian lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro sits down, wearing a dark suit and blue tie The son of jailed former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been convicted by Brazil's highest court of pursuing US intervention during his father's coup trial last year. Eduardo Bolsonaro, 41, was charged last year with lobbying US authorities to help the ex-president by imposing tariffs or sanctions on Brazil. A former congressman in Brazil, Eduardo relocated to the US in 2025 before his father, who governed the country from January 2019 to December 2022, was found guilty of plotting a military coup and given a 27-year sentence. Writing on social media on Tuesday, Eduardo called the conviction "baseless and senseless", saying the justices wanted to stop him from running for election. He added that there was a lack of due process in the case against him, that he was never formally served and was only notified of the case through media reports. Brazil's Supreme Court sentenced him in absentia to four years and two months in prison. The younger Bolsonaro previously told the BBC he was living in "exile" out of fear he would be arrested if he returned to Brazil. He has publicly lobbied for support for his father from the Trump administration, which likened the case against the former Brazilian president to a "witch hunt". US President Donald Trump, who sees the right-wing Bolsonaro as an ally, imposed a 50% tariff on Brazil last July, a move that current Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called "not only misguided but illogical". US Secretary of State Marco Rubio later vowed that Washington would respond to Bolsonaro's conviction. The Trump administration had already sanctioned Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on July 30, accusing him of abuses linked to his handling of Bolsonaro-related cases. Lula said Brazil was willing to negotiate with the US on trade, but called sanctions targeting de Moraes an "unacceptable" interference in the country's justice system. The US has since withdrawn the sanctions. During Trump's first term, the US president and former Brazilian president Bolsonaro enjoyed a friendly relationship when their presidencies overlapped, and the two had met at the White House in 2019. Both men subsequently lost presidential elections and both refused to publicly acknowledge defeat. The elder Bolsonaro was convicted over a plot to overturn his 2022 election defeat. The case was tied to a wider effort to keep him in power, including the January 2023 storming of government buildings in Brasilia by his supporters. "This is nothing more, or less, than an attack on a Political Opponent - Something I know much about!" Trump said at the time. In response, Bolsonaro thanked the US president for his support. A composite photo shows supporters of Jair Bolsonaro waving Brazilian flags and dressed in Brazil football shirts on the left, and on the right opponents of Bolsonaro are seen. One woman has her fist in the air, while a man plays a drum. How the coup trial of Jair Bolsonaro has divided Brazil Jair Bolsonaro is wearing a dark green polo short as he leaves hospital on 14 September in Brasilia. A police officer can be seen behind him. Brazil's Bolsonaro gets temporary house arrest for ill-health Police escort Jair Bolsonaro, who wears a green polo top, from hospital Brazil's Congress approves plan to drastically cut Bolsonaro's jail term Our Ask Me Anything team explains the story behind the World Cup trophy. The return of 4-4-2? False nines? BBC Sport looks at the tactical trends emerging at the World Cup so far. Three men have been arrested after instructors failed to attach a rope to her before helping her jump from a bridge. The historic pool has turned green with algae just days after it was refilled with water following renovations. The BBC spoke to tourists and locals as the pool undergoes cleaning to remove the algae, just days after it was refilled with water. The BBC's Tom Bateman looks at the US president's reaction to what he called "vicious" strikes. Donald Trump's ceasefire agreement with Iran leaves the Israeli PM trapped in a new political and security dilemma. The BBC's Gary O'Donoghue looks at the contrasting approaches of the two presidents as Trump touts a new peace deal.