Brazil’s Bolsonaro leaves hospital, returns to jail in Brasilia

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro left a hospital in Brasilia on Thursday after double hernia surgery, AP reported, and returned to the federal police headquarters where he is serving a 27-year prison sentence. A car took him back to the federal police facility after the weeklong recovery period.

Hospital DF Star confirmed Bolsonaro was released after some other minor medical procedures following the double hernia surgery, which the hospital said was completed without complications. The report said Brazil’s Supreme Court approved his release for the surgery.

Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who sentenced Bolsonaro to prison, denied the former president’s request for house arrest after he left the hospital, AP reported. Bolsonaro remained in the federal police headquarters in Brasilia.

The AP report said Bolsonaro had no contact with the few other inmates held at the federal police headquarters. It described his 12-square-meter room (about 130-square-feet), including a bed, a private bathroom, air conditioning, a television and a desk.

Bolsonaro has undergone several other medical procedures since he was stabbed in the abdomen during a campaign rally in 2018, AP said. The report also said neither Flávio Bolsonaro, his eldest son, nor former first-lady Michelle Bolsonaro made comments about Jair Bolsonaro returning to prison after hospitalization.

Michelle Bolsonaro posted messages on social media, writing, “there is a Brazil of good people which loves you and prays for you.” She added, “We will beat the bad days,” according to AP.

In September, AP said Bolsonaro and several allies were convicted by a panel of Supreme Court justices of attempting to overthrow Brazil’s democratic system after Bolsonaro’s 2022 election defeat. The report said the plot included plans to kill Lula, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Alexandre de Moraes, and it also included a plan to encourage an insurrection in early 2023.

AP further reported that Bolsonaro was convicted on charges that include leading an armed criminal organization and attempting the violent abolition of the democratic rule of law. The former president has denied any wrongdoing, the report said.

In December, AP reported, Bolsonaro appointed his eldest son, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, to become his political party’s presidential candidate in next year’s election, challenging incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.