Brazil’s imprisoned Bolsonaro hospitalised ahead of surgery

(FILES) Former Brazilian President (2019-2022) Jair Bolsonaro leaves the DF Star hospital in Brasilia on September 14, 2025, after undergoing a series of medical examinations, as he remains under house arrest. Brazil's public prosecutor's office approved on December 23, 2025 a request from lawyers representing former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to release him from prison so he can undergo surgery for an inguinal hernia on December 25, according to a document accessed by AFP. (Photo by Sergio Lima / AFP)

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Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro, imprisoned for attempting a coup, has been admitted to hospital in Brasilia where he will undergo a planned surgery on Christmas Day, his doctors said Wednesday.

A convoy of black cars and motorcycles entered the parking garage of the DF Star hospital early Wednesday, transporting the ex-president from a federal police headquarters where he began serving a 27-year sentence in November.

The surgery to repair an inguinal hernia — a protrusion in the groin area due to a tear in the abdominal muscles — will begin at 1200 GMT on Thursday and last three to four hours, surgeon Claudio Birolini said.

“It’s a complex operation, there are no simple operations, but it is scheduled, and we expect everything to go smoothly,” Birolini told a press conference outside the hospital.

Bolsonaro will be hospitalized for five to seven days, cardiologist Brasil Caiado said.

He said Bolsonaro was “anxious, a little depressed” and had been suffering bouts of hiccups, a recurring problem, “for about 40 days.”

– Permission to leave prison –

The permission to leave prison granted by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversaw Bolsonaro’s trial, comes after an expert review last week stated that the operation was medically necessary.

Bolsonaro, 70, has grappled with health issues since being stabbed in the stomach during the 2018 presidential campaign. He was recently diagnosed with skin cancer.

Bolsonaro underwent a 12-hour emergency surgery at the same private hospital in April.

In office from 2019 to 2022, he was sentenced by the Supreme Court in September to prison after being found guilty of having led a scheme to prevent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office and to retain power.

Bolsonaro has maintained his innocence, declaring he was a victim of political persecution.

– ‘Christmas present’ –

Moraes has ordered a significant security detail to surround the former president during his hospitalization.

Two police officers are to be stationed 24 hours a day outside his hospital room, where mobile phones and computers are prohibited.

Bolsonaro’s wife, Michelle, was authorized to be with him during his hospital stay, but his sons initially were not.

However, Moraes on Wednesday relented and allowed Bolsonaro’s sons to see their father.

One of them, Carlos Bolsonaro, a former city councilman in Rio de Janeiro, showed up at the hospital entrance to “send good energy” to his father.

“If I manage to catch a glimpse of him, it will be a wonderful Christmas present,” he told reporters shortly before the former head of state arrived at the hospital.

His eldest son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, recently announced his candidacy for the October 2026 presidential election, claiming that his father had designated him as his successor.

Last week, Brazil’s conservative-majority parliament passed a law that could reduce the length of Bolsonaro’s imprisonment to just over two years.

Lula says he intends to veto the law, but the legislature will have the final say, as it has the right to override a presidential veto.

AFP

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