Bolsonaro's imprisonment: fight for survival in prison without house arrest!

Bolsonaro's imprisonment: fight for survival in prison without house arrest!

The Brazilian justice system ruled on January 1, 2026 that former President Jair Bolsonaro cannot serve his sentence in house arrest. How La Croix Reportedly, Bolsonaro's request to be placed under house arrest was rejected for health reasons. The 70-year-old has been hospitalized in Brasília since December 24 after undergoing surgery for an inguinal hernia.

His defense had argued that his health had deteriorated significantly since a previous request for house arrest. Bolsonaro suffers from severe sleep apnea, gastritis and esophagitis, his doctors said. But the responsible judge, Alexandre de Moraes, found that the ex-president's health had not deteriorated and rejected the claim. Bolsonaro will continue to serve his 27-year prison sentence for the attempted coup in 2022.

Historic condemnation for coup

The court decision is the result of an extraordinary procedure. Bolsonaro was condemned for his role in trying to retain power after his defeat by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Loud NPR The Supreme Court has classified Bolsonaro's activity as the leader of a criminal organization and found him guilty based on overwhelming evidence.

The conviction is particularly notable because it is the first of its kind in Brazilian history: a former president is put on trial for attempted coup. The charges include not only planning a coup, but also participating in an armed criminal group. In January 2023, violent riots broke out in Brasília, during which Bolsonaro supporters stormed government buildings.

Influential figure in Brazilian politics

Although Bolsonaro has been under house arrest since August 2023, he remains a significant figure in Brazilian politics. In the 2022 presidential election, he received 49% of the vote and showed himself to be resilient to the challenges he faced. The trial has also strained diplomatic relations between Brazil and the United States, with Donald Trump describing the legal battle as a "witch hunt."

Bolsonaro was the first far-right president after the military dictatorship in Brazil, ruling from 2019 to 2022. However, his political career is under the shadow of his conviction and ban from public office until 2030, imposed due to the spread of misinformation about the electoral system, such as Le Figaro reported.

Bolsonaro has so far been unable to achieve any relief in his prison conditions and is expected to be taken from the hospital back to his cell on Thursday after the nine-day hospitalization was his first break since his imprisonment.