Bolsonaro, 70, has been hospitalized since December 24 at a clinic in Brasília following surgery for an inguinal hernia and treatment for persistent hiccups.
Jair Bolsonaro’s defense asked the Federal Supreme Court (STF) this Wednesday for the former Brazilian President to be allowed to serve his sentence under house arrest, alleging a “concrete risk of sudden deterioration” in his health.
Lawyers presented a new request for the former Brazilian leader (2019-2022) to remain at home to serve the 27 years in prison to which he was sentenced for his role in the coup attempt to remove his successor, Lula da Silva.
Jair Bolsonaro has been hospitalized since December 24th at a clinic in Brasília.
After undergoing surgery for an inguinal hernia, he is expected to leave the hospital unit on Thursday and return to his cell at the federal police headquarters in the Brazilian capital.
“Keeping this patient in prison, as soon as he leaves the hospital, would expose him to a concrete risk of sudden deterioration of his health”, argued his lawyers in the request to the STF, cited by the agency France Presse (AFP).
Admitted to the private clinic Estrela da Liberdade, in Brasília, the former Brazilian President underwent surgery for an inguinal hernia on Christmas Day.
“Everything is going well post-operatively, so we are maintaining the discharge forecast for tomorrow [quinta-feira]”, said surgeon Claudio Birolini at a press conference today.
Jair Bolsonaro, 70 years old, suffers the consequences of an attack suffered in 2018, when he was stabbed in the abdomen during a presidential campaign rally. Since then, he has undergone several surgeries.
In September, the STF found him guilty of conspiracy to remain in power “in an authoritarian manner” after his defeat in the 2022 elections to Lula da Silva.
His cardiologist, Brasil Caiado, noted that the former Brazilian President’s psychological state “worse considerably” when he suffers from prolonged hiccups.
“Given the context – everything that is happening to him -, he arrived here in a more depressed emotional state”, he observed.
This nine-day internment was Jair Bolsonaro’s first public appearance since his imprisonment at the end of November at the Federal Police headquarters, where, despite claiming innocence, he is serving the sentence he was sentenced to by the STF judges.
