Brazilian Man Sentenced to 17 Years for Stealing
A Brazilian man has been sentenced to 17 years in prison for the theft of a football signed by Neymar during the riots that occurred in Brasília in 2023. Nelson Ribeiro Fonseca Junior, aged 34, was convicted by the Supreme Court on multiple charges, including theft, violent disruption of democratic governance, armed criminal conspiracy, and attempted coup.
The incident happened on January 8, 2023, when a large group of supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro stormed government buildings to protest his electoral defeat to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Over 500 individuals have faced convictions related to these events.
Ribeiro admitted to taking the football, which had been donated to the Chamber of Deputies in 2012 by Neymar’s childhood club, Santos.
His defense claimed he intended to protect it and return it later to authorities. However, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes concluded that Ribeiro was actively involved in the violent disturbances.
The football was described as a “public good belonging to Brazil’s public heritage,” located within a corridor of Congress. The riots took place just one week after Lula’s inauguration following his narrow victory over Bolsonaro in the previous year’s election.
Bolsonaro faces accusations of inciting this unrest and is currently on trial for allegedly attempting to overturn the election results. Prosecutors maintain that this effort failed due to inadequate military support. Bolsonaro has denied all charges against him.
