The opposition in Brazil's lower house filed a house arrest request for former President Jair Bolsonaro on Monday (January 12), backed by 145 lawmakers. The petition, citing health concerns, is addressed to Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes and follows a similar Senate initiative with 41 signatures. The decision rests solely with the justice, despite substantial parliamentary support.
The opposition in Brazil's Chamber of Deputies filed a request on January 12 for house arrest for former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), who is serving a 27-year-and-3-month sentence at the Federal Police Superintendency in Brasília following a conviction for an attempted coup d'état. The petition, supported by 145 lawmakers and led by figures like Gustavo Gayer (PL-GO) and Cabo Gilberto (PL-PB), cites Bolsonaro's health condition, including convulsive crises and the need for daily medical monitoring, as he is over 70 years old.
Gayer described the initiative as 'an act of clamor to try to bring some dignity to our captain' in a post on the social network X. While the number of signatures does not affect the decision, which lies solely with Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the widespread support may serve as a political signal.
In the Senate, a similar petition was submitted on January 9 by Wilder Morais (PL-GO), gathering 41 of the 81 senators. The name of the cassated deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP) also appears on the Chamber's list. There is a slight discrepancy in sources: one reports the formal filing, while another indicates signatures were collected but the request had not yet been formalized at the time of publication.
The list of signing deputies includes names like Bia Kicis (PL-DF), Carlos Jordy (PL-RJ), and Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG), mostly from the bolsonarista base.
