Brasília, Brazil - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva pushed back Sunday against US President Donald Trump's harsh criticism of the conviction of his far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro on coup charges.

In his first public reaction to Bolsonaro's conviction, Lula wrote in a New York Times opinion column addressed to US counterpart Trump that he was "proud" of the Supreme Court's decision, which "safeguards our institutions and the democratic rule of law."

"This was not a 'witch hunt,'" as Trump and other US officials have called the trial, Lula wrote.

On Thursday, the 70-year-old firebrand ex-president Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison for the violent 2023 storming of the Supreme Court, presidential palace, and Congress in Brasília by hundreds of his supporters, a week after his successor Lula was inaugurated.

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Judges voted 4-1 to convict Bolsonaro of plotting to overthrow Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva following his October 2022 election defeat by the left-wing politician.

The former senator was also charged with knowing about a plan to assassinate Lula, his vice president Geraldo Alckmin, and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre Moraes.

According to prosecutors, the only reason that the plot failed was due to a lack of top military support.

Bolsonaro did not attend the verdict hearings in the capital Brasília, instead following along from his residence, where he is under house arrest.