Jair Bolsonaro's defense asked STF Minister Alexandre de Moraes to authorize a psychologist to apply neuromodulation treatment at the prison where the former president is held. The request aims to improve sleep quality and treat hiccups, anxiety, and depression. On the same day, the Attorney General of the Republic opposed house arrest for Bolsonaro.
On February 20, 2026, Jair Bolsonaro's (PL) defense filed a request with the Supreme Federal Court (STF) for Minister Alexandre de Moraes to authorize the entry of Ricardo Caiado, a psychologist and neuroscientist, into the 19th Military Police Battalion in Brasília, known as Papudinha. There, Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year and three-month sentence for an attempted coup d'état. The proposed treatment involves sessions of non-invasive neuromodulation via Cranial Electrical Stimulation (CES), three times a week at the end of the day, lasting 50 minutes to one hour, using bilateral ear clips while the patient remains in conscious repose.
According to the document, Bolsonaro showed "perceptible improvements" in sleep and cessation of hiccups during hospitalization in April 2025 with the same method. The defense argues that prolonged treatment could improve the multimorbidity condition, complementing current medications. Neuromodulation aims to alter neural activity without surgery, relieving symptoms of psychological disorders and chronic pain.
A Police Federal (PF) report from early February confirmed chronic comorbidities such as hypertension, clinical obesity, reflux, and severe obstructive sleep apnea. While ruling out house arrest, it recommended additional neurological investigations and adaptations at Papudinha, including support bars, emergency bells, real-time monitoring, prescribed diet, and physiotherapy.
On the same day, Attorney General Paulo Gonet opposed the house arrest requested by the defense on February 11. Gonet noted that the pathologies are under clinical and medication control, with 24-hour medical assistance available at the facility. "The treatment appropriate for the described pathologies has already been regularly provided to the detainee at the prison establishment itself," he wrote. The defense compared the case to Fernando Collor's, who received humanitarian house arrest in May 2025. It is up to Moraes to decide on the requests.
Bolsonaro was under house arrest in Brasília from August to November 2025, until detained for damaging an electronic ankle monitor, and transferred to Papudinha in January 2026.
