The Supreme Federal Court (STF) of Brazil authorized former President Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to 27 years in prison for attempting a coup, to undergo surgery for a bilateral inguinal hernia. According to the Argentine News Agency (NA), this decision is based on a court ruling published in São Paulo. The decision was made by Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who approved the medical procedure recommended by a board of specialists from the Federal Police. However, he clarified that the intervention is not urgent, although experts advise performing it “as soon as possible” to prevent a worsening of his condition. Bolsonaro has been in preventive detention since November 22 and is serving his sentence at the Federal Police facility in Brasília. Rejection of house arrest benefit In the same ruling, the magistrate denied the defense's request for house arrest, arguing a “total absence of the legal requirements” for its granting. Moraes cited precedents of repeated breaches of precautionary measures, including the violation of electronic monitoring: the former president himself admitted to attempting to open the ankle monitor with a soldering iron. The judge also mentioned the existence of “concrete acts aimed at escape,” for which reason he considered it essential to maintain preventive detention.
