US State Department calls Eduardo Bolsonaro's conviction in the Supreme Court 'persecution and legal manipulation'

Former deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro
Wilton Junior/Estadão Conteúdo
The State Department called the conviction of former deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP) "persecution and legal manipulation".
Last Tuesday (16), the First Panel of the Supreme Court sentenced former deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro to 4 years and 2 months in prison, in a semi-open regime. The decision was unanimous.
The ministers considered that the former deputy tried to coerce the magistrates and articulated United States sanctions against Brazil to hinder the trial of Jair Bolsonaro for a coup d'état.
"This is the most recent example of persecution and legal manipulation by the Brazilian courts against the political opposition. Political debates must be resolved by democratic elections, not by convictions", declared a spokesperson for the US State Department, regarding the case.
What happens after Eduardo Bolsonaro's conviction
STF minister Alexandre de Moraes, rapporteur of the case, understood that there are elements that prove that Eduardo Bolsonaro committed the crime of coercion during the process, as accused by the Attorney General's Office (PGR).
Eduardo Bolsonaro is accused of promoting, with the Donald Trump government, of the United States, actions to create a climate of instability and fear, threatening and projecting retaliation foreign attacks against STF ministers and Brazil.
Eduardo was denounced by the Public Prosecutor's Office and became a defendant in the STF. The objective of the impeached deputy's actions abroad, according to the Prosecutor's Office, was to try to prevent former president Jair Bolsonaro from being convicted in the so-called coup plot. Bolsonaro was sentenced to more than 27 years in prison and is under house arrest.
The prosecutor's office argued that the evidence gathered throughout the process confirmed criminal conduct, and the objective was always to override the interests of the Bolsonaro family over the standards of due legal process and the good order of justice to free the father from criminal liability.
The prosecutor's office listed a series of statements by Eduardo, in interviews and in posts on social networks, as well as exchanges of messages with Jair Bolsonaro that reveal articulations in the United States to embarrass the leadership of the Judiciary.
The lawyer who spoke in Eduardo's defense was Public Defender Esdras dos Santos Carvalho. Eduardo did not appoint a lawyer. He asked for the ex-deputy's acquittal due to lack of evidence. The DPU stated that procedural issues justify the annulment of the entire process, including Moraes' participation in the trial.

Source: G1