There is an expectation among former president Jair Bolsonaro that he will obtain house arrest after the defense requests authorization to perform hernia surgery. The analysis is by Isabel Mega, at Now CNN.
In the same request in which the need for surgery was highlighted, the defense had also requested house arrest. The allies’ expectation was that it would be a “combo” attended by the Federal Supreme Court (STF), but Minister Alexandre said last Friday.
“We still need to have an indication of the date by the defense, then the position of the PGR and the decision of Minister Alexandre de Moraes to understand what the circumstances and conditions of this custody of former president Jair Bolsonaro will be during his hospitalization”, Mega pointed out, explaining: “Who will be able to accompany him, how long he should stay, how these updates will take place”.
The analyst added: “The perspective today, according to the latest decisions by Minister Alexandre de Moraes, is that Bolsonaro may temporarily leave superintendence of the PF and then return, precisely because the request for house arrest was denied.”
Health versus safety arguments
The allies work with the argument that he must remain in a closed regime and argue that he can serve house arrest. There is a strong emotional tone in the speech, as many visited the former president and closely monitored his health.
The defense’s strategy is to continue insisting on the request for house arrest, regardless of the next decisions, appealing to the humanitarian nature of the situation. There is also concern about the proximity of Christmas, a period in which allies consider it especially difficult to keep the former president in prison, with limited contact with family members.
“What we see is that there is a complete alignment of what the defense indicates in its statements, this includes doctors and close monitoring of the family of former president Jair Bolsonaro, his closest allies and what they can do, in terms of digital strategy, in relation to the former president’s situation”, said Isabel Mega.
On the other hand, Minister Alexandre de Moraes based his decision to deny house arrest on several arguments, including possible escape attempts. Among the points mentioned are the document found with a request for political asylum in Argentina, the days that Bolsonaro spent at the Hungarian embassy in Brasília and the attempted violation of the electronic ankle bracelet with a soldering iron.
The minister also considered the penalty for crimes he classified as “very serious”, of more than 27 years in prison, to maintain the decision that Bolsonaro should remain superintendant of the Federal Police, rejecting the argument that the facilities would not be suitable for his state of health.
