Following December surgery for inguinal hernias and treatment for complications like persistent hiccups and sleep apnea, Jair Bolsonaro's defense has requested humanitarian house arrest from Brazil's Supreme Court. The former president, sentenced to 27 years for a post-2022 election coup plot, has been hospitalized in Brasília since December 24, 2025, and is due for discharge on January 1, 2026. Lawyers argue prison conditions are incompatible with his chronic medical needs.
Jair Bolsonaro's defense filed a request on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, with Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes for the former president to serve his 27-year-and-three-month prison sentence for the post-2022 election coup attempt under house arrest. This follows his mid-December petition for—and subsequent performance of—surgery for bilateral inguinal hernias, after which he has remained hospitalized at Hospital DF Star in Brasília since December 24. There, he underwent four procedures: the herniorrhaphy on December 25 and three phrenic nerve blocks on December 27, 29, and 30 to address persistent hiccups from gastroesophageal reflux. An endoscopy on December 31 confirmed gastritis and erosive esophagitis.
Doctors Cláudio Birolini and Brasil Caiado reported significant improvement in hiccup frequency and intensity, with no new blood pressure spikes. A polysomnography exam revealed severe obstructive sleep apnea (over 50 events per hour), requiring continuous nighttime CPAP use, which Bolsonaro has now adapted to after prior failures. Antidepressant medication was also started at his request, given its impact on his health.
"The patient's continued presence in a prison facility immediately upon discharge would expose him to concrete risk of sudden health deterioration," the defense argues, citing the May 2025 precedent of former President Fernando Collor's house arrest for similar comorbidities including apnea. The medical bulletin forecasts discharge on January 1, 2026, with continued treatments for reflux, respiratory physiotherapy, and thrombosis prevention. Bolsonaro would otherwise return to the Federal Police Superintendence in Brasília, but his lawyers stress chronic conditions incompatible with prison.
