A Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Tuesday approved former President Jair Bolsonaro’s request to serve his sentence under temporary house arrest following his discharge from hospital treatment for bronchopneumonia.
“I authorize temporary humanitarian house arrest… for an initial period of 90 days,” Justice Alexandre de Moraes said in a court document obtained by AFP, adding that the period could be extended if medical conditions require it.
The 71-year-old former far-right leader was sentenced to 27 years in prison last September for his role in an attempted coup in 2022. Bolsonaro had been serving his sentence at the Papuda Penitentiary Complex since mid-January before being admitted to a private clinic on March 13 due to illness.
After more than a week in intensive care, he was transferred to a regular in-patient room on Monday. Medical experts attributed his condition to a bronchial aspiration linked to a stab wound he sustained during the 2018 presidential campaign.
Shortly after the ruling, his wife, Michelle Bolsonaro, expressed relief on social media, posting, “Thank you, God!”
While incarcerated, Bolsonaro endorsed his eldest son, Flavio Bolsonaro, as a candidate for October’s presidential election. Current opinion polls suggest a tight race between Flavio Bolsonaro and incumbent leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is seeking a fourth term, with less than seven months to go until the election.
