Former Brazilian President Fernando Collor de Mello was arrested on Friday in the northeastern city of Maceio after a Supreme Court justice rejected his challenges against a previous conviction and ordered him to start serving jail time.

Collor's lawyer, Marcelo Bessa, said he was arrested at 4:00 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) while traveling to Brazil's capital Brasilia, where he planned to turn himself in following Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes' arrest order.

The former president was being held by federal police in Maceio, the capital of Alagoas state, Bessa said in a statement.

Moraes' order on Thursday came after the top court sentenced Collor, the first president to win the popular vote after the end of Brazil's last military dictatorship in 1985, to eight years and 10 months in prison in 2023 on corruption and money laundering charges.

Court rules six to four against appeals; medical report delays house arrest decision

The Supreme Court decided by majority vote to uphold the imprisonment of former President Fernando Collor de Mello. The ruling took place in a virtual session, with the final tally at six votes to four.

In ordering Collor’s imprisonment last Thursday (24), the case’s rapporteur, Justice Alexandre de Moraes, argued that the appeals filed by Collor’s defense were intended merely to delay proceedings.

Justices Flávio Dino, Edson Fachin, Luís Roberto Barroso, Cármen Lúcia, and Dias Toffoli sided with Justice Moraes. Justice Zanin declared himself recused, citing his prior role as an attorney in Operation Car Wash cases before joining the Court.

A faction of the Court dissented, including Justices Gilmar Mendes, André Mendonça, Luiz Fux, and Kassio Nunes Marques, who generally argued that the appeals should be accepted and Collor’s imprisonment revoked.

A majority of Supreme Federal Court (STF) justices voted Thursday for the conviction of former senator and former president Fernando Collor for passive corruption and money laundering in a case of Operation Lava Jato, Agencia Brasil reported. So far, the score is 6 to 1 for conviction. After voting Thursday, the session was adjourned and will resume on May 24.

Case rapporteur Edson Fachin cast his vote Wednesday in favor of sentencing Collor, also a former Senator, to 33 years and 10 months in prison. Two former advisers may also be convicted in the case.

In Fachin's view, Collor was responsible for political appointments to BR Distribuidora, a subsidiary of Petrobras, and received R$ 20 million as consideration for facilitating the hiring of UTC Engineering.

Joining Fachin's vote were Justices Alexandre De Moraes, André Mendonça, Luís Roberto Barroso, Luiz Fux, and Cármen Lúcia. Collor's sentence is yet to be defined.

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