The Brazilian Federal Supreme Court has again denied a request from the defence team of former President Jair Bolsonaro to move him from prison to house arrest.Bolsonaro, 70, has been in and out of hospital over the past week, undergoing multiple treatments for aggressive hiccups and a hernia.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listBut on Thursday, his petition for house arrest on “humanitarian grounds” was denied, a day after it was filed.In explaining the court’s decision, Justice Alexandre de Moraes argued that Bolsonaro already has access to round-the-clock medical care in police custody.The former right-wing leader is currently being held at the federal police headquarters in the capital, Brasilia, after being sentenced to 27 years in prison for attempting to overturn his 2022 electoral defeat.De Moraes also questioned whether Bolsonaro’s health merited “humanitarian” accommodations.“Contrary to what the defence alleges, there has been no worsening of Jair Messias Bolsonaro’s health condition,” the justice said in his decision.“Rather, his clinical condition showed improvement in the discomfort he was experiencing after undergoing elective surgeries, as indicated in the report from his own doctors.” Dr Brasil Caiado speaks after Bolsonaro underwent surgery to treat hiccups on December 29, 2025 [Mateus Bonomi/Reuters]Multiple requestsThis is not the first time the court has rejected a similar petition from Bolsonaro, who has reportedly suffered from lingering conditions, including hiccups, related to an abdominal stabbing he survived on the campaign trail in 2018. Advertisement Bolsonaro was taken into custody in November after damaging an …
