Brazil’s Supreme Court allows Bolsonaro to leave prison for surgery

Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro was allowed to leave prison to undergo surgery on Christmas Day following approval by Brazil’s Supreme Court, according to court documents.

Bolsonaro is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence for plotting a coup after losing the last election in 2022.

Judge Alexandre de Moraes on Tuesday allowed Bolsonaro to temporarily leave prison and be transferred to a hospital on Wednesday for a hernia surgery on December 25.

Bolsonaro, 70, has faced ongoing health problems since he was stabbed in the stomach during the 2018 presidential election.

In April, the right-wing former president underwent intestinal surgery. By November, Judge Moraes, who also oversaw his trial, mandated that Bolsonaro be given full-time medical care.

Former president’s son Flávio Bolsonaro Sent a video to X Wednesday with the headline: “Keep praying for the President.”

Bolsonaro was convicted of plotting a coup in September after losing the 2022 elections to leftist rival Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The former leader is serving his sentence in a federal police prison in the capital Brasilia after being released from house arrest after being deemed a flight risk.

Earlier this month, tens of thousands of people gathered in Brazil’s major cities to protest a bill that seeks to significantly reduce the time Bolsonaro spends in prison.

Lawmakers passed the bill last week after it was approved in the lower house. Legal experts estimate this could reduce Bolsonaro’s sentence to less than three years.

In response, Brazilian President Lula He vowed to veto the bill..

“With all due respect to Congress, I will veto it when it reaches my desk,” Lula told reporters last week, while also acknowledging that his veto could be overridden by the largely conservative Congress.

US President Donald Trump, who previously described the investigation against Bolsonaro as a “witch hunt”, welcomed the adoption of the bill. The United States also lifted sanctions imposed on Judge Moraes in July.