The minister of the (Supreme Federal Court) denied this Monday (2) the request for house arrest made by the defense of the former president, who will continue serving his sentence in the 19th Military Police Battalion — the so-called Papudinha.
According to the magistrate, he can be monitored and treated at the place where he is detained. Papudinha has 24-hour medical assistance, an advanced Samu unit and free access to Bolsonaro’s medical team.
Moraes mentioned “the total adequacy of the prison environment to the medical needs of the prisoner, with absolute respect for their health and human dignity.” He also cited the episode in which Bolsonaro tried to break the electronic ankle bracelet, which was interpreted by the minister as an attempt to escape.
According to the minister, given “reiterated non-compliance with precautionary measures throughout the criminal proceedings” and the result of the official medical examination, “the exceptional requirements for granting humanitarian house arrest are not present.”
“The specific conditions and adaptations of the prison unit fully meet the needs of the convict, with the possibility and effective provision of continuous medical services, with multiple daily visits, physiotherapy sessions, physical activities, religious assistance, in addition to guaranteeing the defendant, in absolute guarantee of the principle of human dignity, the receipt of numerous visits from family, friends, relatives, friends and political allies”, writes the rapporteur.
On February 20, the Attorney General of the Republic, Paulo Gonet, spoke out against the granting of domicile. According to him, the court’s jurisprudence only provides for home care for occasions when “indispensable medical treatment cannot be offered in the custody unit”, which would not be the case.
For Gonet, although the expert report prepared by the PF () confirmed a “multiplicity” of pathologies, Bolsonaro’s illnesses are under due clinical and medication control.
According to him, the fact that the expert considered it opportune to optimize Papudinha’s structure (with support bars, emergency bell and real-time monitoring devices) “does not imply, in itself, the inadequacy of the prison environment”.
The most recent request for house arrest was made by Bolsonaro’s defense on February 11. The lawyers stated that the former president was “in a situation of severe, permanent and progressive multimorbidity, with potentially fatal events.”
In the defense’s assessment, Bolsonaro’s stay in Papudinha was still risky for the former president’s health, “either due to the structural limitations inherent to the prison, or due to the dependence on contingent arrangements that are difficult to maintain over time.”
Previously, Bolsonaro’s allies were betting that Moraes could be convinced to grant the domicile. , a wing of the STF started to defend this hypothesis, claiming that, if the president had any serious complications in prison, the blame could fall on the Supreme Court.
Medical expertise, however, did not point to the need for home care. According to the report, Bolsonaro is able to remain in prison, as long as he receives special care. A expressed himself along the same lines, frustrating the defense’s expectations.
Bolsonaro was detained at home, in Brasília, from last August until November, when he was preventively arrested after damaging the electronic ankle bracelet he was forced to wear. In January, he left the PF superintendence in Brasília and was transferred to Papudinha.
