Rio de Janeiro (EFE).- Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court rejected on Thursday the new request for house arrest on humanitarian grounds filed by the lawyers of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who currently serves a 27-year and three-month sentence for plotting a coup in a police facility in Brasília.
Due to the recent decision by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the case’s judge, Bolsonaro must return to his cell on Thursday, after being discharged from the hospital where he has been since Dec. 24.
The army reserve captain underwent four operations in recent days, prompting his lawyers to request house arrest on humanitarian and health grounds.
On Wednesday at a press conference, the doctors treating the Brazilian far-right leader said that, although they have not completely resolved his health issues, his condition is stable and he can leave the hospital on Thursday.
Once discharged, Bolsonaro will reportedly be escorted to the Federal Police Superintendence headquarters in Brasília, where he has been serving his sentence since November.
In denying the new appeal, Moraes stated that the defense did not present “justifying facts that could modify the denial of a request for humanitarian house arrest issued on Dec. 19.”
According to the magistrate, the legal requirements for granting house arrest are not met in the case of the former president, especially given his repeated violations of the precautionary measures imposed when he was provisionally serving his sentence at home.
Moraes recalled that Bolsonaro destroyed the electronic ankle bracelet that controlled his movements in an apparent escape attempt.
“Contrary to what the defense alleged, Bolsonaro’s health situation did not worsen. On the contrary, his clinical state shows improvement of the problems he had been complaining about after undergoing new elective surgeries, as indicated in the report of his doctors,” the sentence stated.
Moraes added that he granted all requests for medical attention made by the defense, such as receiving doctors in his cell at any time without prior judicial authorization and the installation of a 24-hour emergency service in the police building.
According to his doctors, the surgery to correct two inguinal hernias on Dec. 25 and the three operations to block the phrenic nerves and control his recurrent hiccups were performed as planned during his eight-day hospitalization.
The former president experienced some hypertension spikes in recent days, which were treated with medication. At his request, he is also receiving antidepressants.
In September 2025, the Supreme Federal Court convicted Bolsonaro of “leading” a plot to “perpetuate himself in power” after he lost the 2022 presidential election to the current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro’s lawyers have requested several times that he be granted house arrest on humanitarian grounds due to his poor health; however, the Supreme Federal Court has denied all appeals thus far.EFE
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