Daijiworld Media Network - Brasilia
Brasilia, Jan 2: Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was discharged from a hospital in the capital Brasilia on Thursday, a week after undergoing a double hernia surgery, and was taken back to federal police headquarters where he is serving a 27-year prison sentence for leading an attempted coup to remain in power.
Hospital DF Star confirmed that Bolsonaro was released after undergoing a few minor follow-up medical procedures, adding that the hernia surgery was completed without complications. The Supreme Court had earlier granted him temporary permission to undergo the surgery.
However, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who sentenced Bolsonaro, rejected his plea seeking house arrest following his hospitalisation. With the court’s decision, the former president was transported back to custody by car.
Bolsonaro, who governed Brazil from 2019 to 2022, has undergone multiple medical procedures in recent years, particularly after he was stabbed in the abdomen during an election campaign rally in 2018.
He is being held at the federal police headquarters in Brasilia, where he reportedly has no contact with other inmates. His 12-square-metre room is equipped with a bed, private bathroom, air conditioning, a television and a desk.
In December, Bolsonaro once again stirred Brazil’s political landscape by announcing his eldest son, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, as the presidential candidate of his party for next year’s election, challenging incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Neither Flávio Bolsonaro nor former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro commented on his return to prison. However, Michelle Bolsonaro took to social media, expressing support for her husband. “There is a Brazil of good people which loves you and prays for you,” she wrote, adding, “We will beat the bad days.”
Bolsonaro and several of his close allies were convicted in September by a panel of Supreme Court judges for attempting to undermine Brazil’s democratic system following his defeat in the 2022 presidential election. Investigators revealed that the plot included plans to assassinate President Lula, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Justice de Moraes, along with efforts to incite an insurrection in early 2023.
The former president was also found guilty of leading an armed criminal organisation and attempting the violent abolition of democratic rule. Bolsonaro has consistently denied all charges and maintains that he has committed no wrongdoing.