Brazil’s Supreme Court rejects Jair Bolsonaro’s bid for house arrest, dismissing health concerns and ordering his return to a federal prison.
BRASÍLIA: Brazil’s Supreme Court has rejected former president Jair Bolsonaro’s request to serve his prison sentence under house arrest.
The far-right ex-leader’s lawyers filed the petition on Wednesday, citing a “real risk of a sudden worsening” of his health.
Bolsonaro, 70, has been hospitalised for over a week following surgery for a groin hernia and a subsequent procedure for persistent hiccups.
Judge Alexandre de Moraes stated in his ruling that there has been no worsening of Bolsonaro’s health condition.
The court found Bolsonaro guilty in September of conspiring to remain in power after losing the 2022 election to leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
He is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup.
Bolsonaro’s doctors expect him to be discharged from hospital on Thursday.
He will then return to the small room at a federal police facility in Brasília where he is serving his term.
The former president had been under house arrest until shortly before his imprisonment began in November.
He was detained and sent to prison after damaging his ankle monitoring bracelet with a soldering iron, which the court viewed as an escape attempt.
Bolsonaro has for years dealt with complications from a 2018 abdominal stab wound suffered during a campaign rally.
He has denied any wrongdoing and claims to be a victim of political persecution.
