Brazil's Lula vetoes bill cutting former President Bolsonaro's sentence

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva vetoed on Thursday a bill passed by Congress cutting former President Jair Bolsonaro's 27-year prison sentence for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 election.

The bill approved by lawmakers in December was set to cut the former right-wing president's prison term to just over two years. Congress can still override Lula's veto.

The bill also reduced sentences for those convicted over their roles in a January 2023 riot, when Bolsonaro supporters invaded and ransacked the presidential palace, Supreme Court and Congress.

About 2,000 people were arrested over the attack, which drew comparisons to the January 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Many of those in Brazil have been convicted by the Supreme Court of attempting a coup, among other crimes.

"All of the (coup plotters) were tried transparently and impartially, and at the end of the trial they were convicted on the basis of strong evidence," Lula said at an event in Brasilia.

The leftist leader had already vowed to veto the bill in December. Bolsonaro began serving his sentence in November.