Brazil Supreme Court judge orders imprisonment of convicted ex-president Collor

BRASILIA: A Brazilian Supreme Court judge ordered Thursday the imprisonment of former President Fernando Collor de Mello, sentenced in 2023 to eight years and 10 months in prison on corruption charges from the landmark "Operation Car Wash" probe.

"Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), rejected the second appeal of the defense and determined the immediate arrest of the former president of the Republic and former senator Fernando Collor de Mello," the court said in a statement.

The decision is "immediately" enforceable and will submitted to a vote by the full Supreme Court on Friday.

The 75-year-old former president, who led the country between 1990 and 1992, was found guilty of receiving 20 million reais ($ 3.5 million at the current exchange rate) between 2010 and 2014 when he was a senator.

The funds were received to "irregularly facilitate contracts" between a construction company and a former subsidiary of the Brazilian state oil company Petrobras.

Collor's defense team received the decision "with surprise and concern," according to a press statement, adding that Collor "will appear to comply with the decision."

A court source later clarified that "nobody can be detained at night, but he can turn himself in during the morning."