A Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Tuesday authorized former President Jair Bolsonaro to serve his prison sentence under house arrest on medical grounds, according to a court order made public that day. Justice Alexandre de Moraes set an initial 90-day period for the humanitarian house arrest.
Bolsonaro, 71 years old, has been serving a 27-year prison term since November after being convicted of plotting a coup following his defeat in the 2022 election to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The new order does not set a permanent end date for confinement at home; rather, it establishes a limited period during which the conditions for continued humanitarian house arrest will be reviewed.
In the decision, Moraes said the house arrest is to last for an initial period of 90 days. "After this period, the presence of the requirements necessary for maintaining humanitarian house arrest will be reassessed, including a medical examination if needed," the justice wrote.
Legal representatives for the right-wing former president had for some time petitioned Moraes to allow him to serve his sentence under what they described as "humanitarian house arrest." Prior to Tuesday's order, those requests had been denied by the justice.
The decision to reverse earlier denials follows a recent hospitalization. Bolsonaro was admitted earlier this month to the intensive care unit of a Brasilia hospital with an acute form of pneumonia. A medical note issued on Tuesday indicated that he has been discharged from the ICU.
The court order and the medical update together frame the immediate circumstances behind the shift in detention conditions: a sitting justice has approved a temporary, health-based change to where the former president will serve his sentence, and the arrangement will be subject to reassessment at the end of the designated period.
Summary
Justice Alexandre de Moraes has approved an initial 90-day period of humanitarian house arrest for former President Jair Bolsonaro, 71, who is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup after the 2022 election. The house arrest follows a recent ICU admission for acute pneumonia; Bolsonaro has since been discharged from intensive care. The court directed that the situation be reassessed after 90 days and that a medical examination be arranged if necessary.