Brazil's Bolsonaro leaves hospital after surgeries, returns to prison

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was discharged from hospital after hernia and hiccup treatments, returning to serve his 27-year prison sentence in Brasilia. His request for humanitarian house arrest was denied by the Supreme Court.

Mateus Bononi, Jonathan Neves, Janaina Quinet and Liamar Ramos/Reuters

2 January 2026 at 01:28:41

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was discharged from hospital and returned to federal police custody in Brasília after treatment for a hernia and hiccups, as a court rejected his request for humanitarian house arrest while he serves a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup.

Reuters

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was discharged from hospital on Thursday (January 1) after undergoing medical procedures to treat a hernia and hiccups, according to a Reuters witness and local media reports.

The 70-year-old right-wing leader is being taken back to the Federal Police Superintendency in Brasilia, where he is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 presidential election.

Earlier in the day, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes rejected a request from Bolsonaro's lawyers seeking permission for the former president to serve his sentence under "humanitarian house arrest."

Bolsonaro was admitted to hospital last week for the surgical procedures, authorised by Moraes following a request from the former president's lawyers.

-Mateus Bononi, Jonathan Neves, Janaina Quinet and Liamar Ramos

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was discharged from hospital after undergoing treatment for a hernia and persistent hiccups and is being returned to federal police custody in Brasília. The development comes as Brazil’s Supreme Court rejected his request for humanitarian house arrest while he serves a 27-year sentence related to an alleged coup plot following the 2022 election.