Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) denied on Saturday the request for house arrest for former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year and three-month prison sentence for an attempted coup. The court made this decision after considering that the request was presented by a lawyer who is not part of his defense team. In this regard, Judge Gilmar Mendes stated that 'this 'habeas corpus' was not even filed by the technical defense of the patient, former President of the Republic,' referring to the request made by independent lawyer Paulo Emendabili Barros de Carvalhosa. Mendes also based his decision on the jurisprudence of the STF itself, which does not admit the processing of 'habeas corpus' resources directed against acts of other court judges. The 'habeas corpus' request challenged decisions made by the judge in charge of Bolsonaro's case, Alexandre de Moraes. In fact, Moraes referred the case to Mendes on Friday, after declaring himself unable to analyze the request, as he appeared as the authority indicated in the recourse. In his ruling, Mendes stated that accepting the 'habeas corpus' would imply an 'improper substitution of natural jurisdiction,' with a risk of violating the principle of the natural judge. Bolsonaro was convicted by the STF on September 11, 2025, for his participation in the attempted coup in January 2023, a ruling that marked a milestone in Brazil's judicial history.
