Brazil's Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes authorized former President Jair Bolsonaro's surgery for December 25 on Wednesday, following a request from his defense. Bolsonaro will be admitted to a hospital in Brasilia on Thursday and operated on Friday for an inguinal hernia, with his wife Michelle by his side. The procedure is not urgent, though doctors advise carrying it out soon to prevent health deterioration.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, aged 70, faces another surgical procedure amid his conviction for a coup attempt. Since late November, he has been serving a 27-year prison sentence in a Federal Police detention center in Brasilia, after being transferred from house arrest where he unsuccessfully tried to remove his electronic anklet.
Alexandre de Moraes, the case instructor for the failed 2022 coup plot, approved the defense's request. The judge not only decides on Bolsonaro's prison conditions but also those of other convicts in the same proceedings. The authorization allows Michelle Bolsonaro to accompany her husband during the procedure.
The surgery addresses an inguinal hernia and is scheduled for December 25, a holiday. While not an emergency, doctors urge proceeding soon to avoid health deterioration. Bolsonaro has a complicated medical history, with multiple surgeries for abdominal issues, hernias, and intestinal obstructions stemming from a 2018 stabbing during his presidential campaign. Most recently, in September this year, he underwent surgery for skin lesions.
This development takes place as Bolsonaro remains under strict custody, with Moraes continuing to oversee matters related to his incarceration and that of his co-defendants.
