"Up to 48 Days Off Per Year for Reading"... What Is the Program Even Former Presidents Join?

Former Brazilian President Bolsonaro
Court Approves "Sentence Reduction Through Reading" Program
Up to 48 Days Off Per Year if Book Reports Are Approved

Jair Bolsonaro, the former President of Brazil who is currently imprisoned on charges of plotting to overthrow the new government following his defeat in the 2022 presidential election, is participating in a program that allows inmates to reduce their sentences through reading.

Jair Bolsonaro, former President of Brazil. Photo by Yonhap News

On January 19 (local time), CNN Brazil reported that the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court had approved Bolsonaro's participation in the "sentence reduction through reading" program.

Alexandre de Moraes, Justice of the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court (STF), granted permission for Bolsonaro to join the reading program for sentence reduction. Previously, the Office of the Prosecutor General (PGR) had also expressed support for this application.

Justice Moraes stated that this decision is based on the Law of Criminal Enforcement. This law allows inmates in closed or semi-open facilities to reduce part of their sentences through work or study, and reading activities are also included as a means of sentence reduction.

According to the relevant law, inmates can read up to 12 books per year. After finishing each book, they must write a report summarizing its contents. These reports are then evaluated by a committee within the correctional facility.

For each book, up to four days can be deducted from the sentence, allowing for a maximum reduction of 48 days per year. The committee submits the inmate's handwritten reports to the sentencing judge, who verifies whether the reading activities and sentence reduction requirements have been met.

However, there are restrictions on which books can be used for the program. The correctional facility's library operates a designated reading list focused mainly on literature and novels. Included on the list are works by renowned Brazilian authors such as Jorge Amado, Machado de Assis, Clarice Lispector, Ariano Suassuna, and Marcelo Rubens Paiva, as well as international authors like William Shakespeare, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and George Orwell.

In the application, Bolsonaro's legal team expressed his intention to read regularly and promised to submit handwritten reports for each book, in accordance with the regulations of the National Justice Council (CNJ).

Bolsonaro, who served as president from 2019 to 2022, is currently serving a sentence of 27 years and 3 months in prison for crimes including conspiring with cabinet members to stage a military coup after losing the 2022 presidential election to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, inciting his supporters to riot in protest of the election results, and involvement in plans to assassinate President Lula.

In addition to the coup-related verdict, Bolsonaro was also subjected to measures such as wearing an electronic ankle monitor and house arrest prior to his imprisonment, due to reasons including indirect involvement in political protests demanding his release and provoking or supporting foreign government intervention, notably the sanctions imposed by the Donald Trump administration on Brazilian Supreme Court justices.

However, Bolsonaro was detained at the Federal Police detention center in Brasilia starting November 2 of last year, after being caught attempting to tamper with his electronic ankle monitor.

In this regard, on January 15, Justice Moraes ordered that Bolsonaro be transferred to the Papudinha military correctional facility in Brasilia. In his decision, Justice Moraes pointed out that despite Bolsonaro being held in relatively privileged conditions, his family and close associates had repeatedly attempted to undermine the legitimacy of the sentence in public.

The dedicated space provided at Papudinha totals 64.83 square meters, consisting of 54.76 square meters of indoor space and 10.07 square meters of outdoor space. The interior is equipped with a kitchen suitable for cooking, a refrigerator, storage cabinets, a double bed, a television, and a bathroom with hot water for showers. The outdoor area allows for sunbathing at any time while ensuring privacy.

Visits are permitted in both indoor and outdoor spaces, and can be scheduled up to twice a week (on Wednesdays and Thursdays), with a choice of up to three time slots per day. Multiple visitors can be received at the same time.