Politics Brazil's ex-president Bolsonaro must return to prison after operations
Brazil's ex-President Jair Bolsonaro must return to prison after several operations. The Supreme Court rejected an application by his lawyers to serve his sentence under house arrest. The right-wing politician, who has been sentenced to a long prison term, will therefore be transferred back to his cell at police headquarters in the capital Brasília as soon as he is able to leave hospital.
01.01.2026, 17:33
SDA
The 70-year-old had undergone three operations in recent days due to a bilateral hernia and chronic hiccups. The former head of state has already undergone a whole series of operations in recent years after he was stabbed and seriously injured during the 2018 election campaign.
Long prison sentence for coup attempt
The former president (2019-2022) has been serving a more than 27-year prison sentence for a coup attempt since the end of November. The Supreme Court deemed it proven that he had planned a coup against the government of his successor Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva together with co-conspirators after he was voted out of office.
In view of his failing health, Bolsonaro's lawyers had requested that he be able to serve his sentence under house arrest in future. Federal judge Alexandre de Moraes rejected the request. He justified this with Bolsonaro's repeated breaches of conditions and escape attempts. For example, he had damaged his electronic anklet with a soldering iron the night before his arrest.
