Jailed former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was granted a brief leave from prison on Wednesday so he could undergo medical tests after he fell from his bed, the Associated Press reported.
The Supreme Court said the decision authorizing the transfer was based on a health report prepared by federal police the day before. Police escorted Bolsonaro from the federal police headquarters in Brasilia to DF Star hospital, arriving at around midday, where he received three brain tests.
At around 4:30 p.m. local time, Bolsonaro’s wife Michelle said on Instagram that the exams had been carried out and that the family was awaiting results. She said her husband then returned to prison.
DF Star hospital later released a brief statement saying the tests showed “mild soft-tissue thickening in the frontal and right temporal regions” due to trauma and that no additional treatment was needed.
Bolsonaro fell in his cell overnight from Monday to Tuesday while sleeping, according to the report described by AP. His wife and his son Carlos said on social media Tuesday that Bolsonaro needed medical attention and expressed frustration that he had not been sent to the hospital on Tuesday.
In the ruling authorizing the Wednesday trip, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes cited the federal police health report from Tuesday. The report said Bolsonaro had reported mild head trauma. It also said that upon examination Bolsonaro was conscious and lucid, and that he had a superficial cut to his face.
De Moraes authorized a tomography, a brain scan and a brain wave test that Bolsonaro’s lawyers requested. The justice also said the transfer should be conducted in a “discreet manner,” and that federal police would be responsible for Bolsonaro’s security and his return to prison.
This was not Bolsonaro’s first recent medical transfer. AP reported that he had previously left the hospital and returned to prison last Thursday, a week after undergoing double hernia surgery. It also said Bolsonaro has been hospitalized multiple times since he was stabbed at a campaign event before the 2018 presidential election.
Bolsonaro and several allies were convicted in September by a panel of Supreme Court justices for attempting to overthrow Brazil’s democratic system after Bolsonaro’s 2022 election defeat. AP said the case included plans to kill Lula, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and de Moraes, as well as plans to encourage an insurrection in early 2023.
AP also 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, and that he has denied any wrongdoing.