Supreme Court Denies Bolsonaro House Arrest, He Returns To Prison

The Federal Supreme Court on Jan. 1, 2026 refused a petition from Jair Messias Bolsonaro’s defence seeking to convert his 27-year sentence to house arrest on humanitarian grounds. Justice Alexandre de Moraes authored the decision, finding that medical evidence did not demonstrate a worsening of Bolsonaro’s condition and noting that the former president has access to round-the-clock medical care while in federal custody.

Bolsonaro, 70, was discharged from hospital after more than a week of treatment and returned to the small cell at the Federal Police headquarters in Brasília where he is serving his sentence. He had been temporarily allowed to leave prison on Dec. 23, 2025 to undergo surgery for a groin inguinal hernia caused by damage to his abdominal muscles; medical sources say he also received follow-up care for recurring severe hiccups. After the procedures and subsequent treatment he was cleared and escorted back into custody.

The petition, filed at the end of December, argued that detaining Bolsonaro in prison posed an unacceptable risk to his health. His lawyers warned of a “real risk of a sudden worsening” and wrote that “it is certain that keeping the petitioner in a prison environment would pose a concrete and immediate risk to his physical integrity and even his life,” requesting that his sentence be converted to house arrest on humanitarian grounds. The court’s ruling rejected those assertions on the basis that the available medical documentation did not justify a transfer from the federal police facility where continuous care is being provided.

Bolsonaro was convicted in September 2025 on multiple counts tied to efforts to overturn his 2022 electoral defeat, receiving a 27-year sentence. The conviction encompassed charges including attempted coup d’état, armed conspiracy, attempted abolition of the rule of law, destruction of public property and damage to national heritage. Prosecutors alleged a plot that included plans to assassinate President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and said it faltered when it failed to secure backing from senior military leaders. Bolsonaro has consistently denied wrongdoing and characterized the proceedings as politically motivated.

The court’s refusal to grant house arrest comes amid intense political manoeuvring in Congress. Conservative allies of Bolsonaro have advanced legislation that could dramatically reduce his prison term, potentially cutting it to just over two years if enacted. President Lula has pledged to veto such measures, setting up a potential clash that could be decided by whether Congress musters the votes to override a veto. The interplay of judicial rulings and legislative initiatives has reopened the contest for the October 2026 presidential race, in which Bolsonaro remains a central and polarizing figure.

As legal avenues and political strategies continue to unfold, Bolsonaro remains detained at the federal police facility in Brasília. The Jan. 1 decision preserves his confinement and leaves intact a punishment that will be contested both in Brazil’s courts and on its political stages in the months ahead.