Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered former President Jair Bolsonaro moved from the federal police headquarters in Brasilia to a larger cell at the Papuda Penitentiary Complex, also in the capital, a court decision dated Thursday said. The order by Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the transfer was intended to provide “more favorable conditions” for a high-profile detainee.
The decision addressed accusations that Bolsonaro was not being treated properly in custody. Moraes denied those accusations and wrote: “Regrettably and falsely, there has been a systematic attempt to delegitimize the regular and lawful execution of the custodial sentence of Jair Messias Bolsonaro, which has been carried out with full respect for human dignity.”
Bolsonaro has been serving a 27-year prison sentence for attempting a coup after his 2022 electoral defeat, according to the report. The article said his lawyers have pressed for a transfer to house arrest on medical grounds, and it described repeated claims by Bolsonaro’s wife, Michelle Bolsonaro, and his sons that he is being mistreated and not receiving adequate medical attention.
In Thursday’s order, Moraes directed that Bolsonaro be moved from a 12-square-meter room to a 54-square-meter room. The new space was ordered to include a 10-square-meter outside area that he can access at will, and the decision described the revised area as apartment-like, with a double bed, a kitchen, a laundry, a living room and an outdoor area.
The report said the transfer would come with added time for family visits and that physiotherapy equipment such as a treadmill and bicycle would be installed. It also said Moraes refused to grant Bolsonaro access to a smart TV, citing that the ability to connect to the internet increases the risks to institutional security and could potentially enable improper communication with the outside world and illegal acts.
The Supreme Court’s press office said the transfer had already happened, the report added. It said Bolsonaro has made several trips to a nearby hospital since beginning his sentence, most recently after falling out of bed and hitting his head.
Moraes also ordered a medical examination to assess Bolsonaro’s health and determine whether he needs to be transferred to a penitentiary hospital. The decision said the prison where Bolsonaro will be detained has a health post with doctors, nurses, dentists, psychologists, a psychiatrist and a pharmacist who exclusively serve prisoners held in custody there.
The Supreme Court convictions described in the report followed legal findings that Bolsonaro and allies attempted to overthrow Brazil’s democracy after his 2022 election defeat. The article said the plot included plans to kill President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Justice de Moraes, and it also involved encouraging an insurrection in early 2023; it said Bolsonaro was found guilty of charges including leading an armed criminal organization and attempting the violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, while Bolsonaro has denied wrongdoing.
In the same Thursday order, the report said, Moraes wrote that Bolsonaro’s custodial sentence was not a “hotel stay or a vacation colony” as statements by Bolsonaro’s sons cited in the decision “mistakenly seem to demand.”