Brazil's Bolsonaro leaves hospital and heads home to serve the rest of his 27-year sentence

Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro, temporarily allowed out of house arrest for medical treatment, departs a hospital in Brasilia, Brazil, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)

SAO PAULO — Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro was discharged from a hospital in the capital on Friday to continue serving a 27-year sentence for a coup attempt at his residence in an upscale gated community.

The Supreme Court earlier in the week granted him the right of house imprisonment due to failing health. The measure could be revised within 90 days.

Bolsonaro left the hospital DF Star in Brasilia at around 10 a.m. local time and headed to the Jardim Botanico neighbourhood, where he lived prior to his conviction with his wife, Michelle Bolsonaro, and his 15-year-old daughter, Laura.

The 71-year-old was hospitalized on March 13 for pneumonia, one of several health issues he has faced since he was stabbed by a man in 2018 before being elected president. He was put in intensive care for days due to kidney and inflammatory problems.

Bolsonaro governed between 2019 and 2022 and narrowly lost his re-election bid to current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The former right-wing leader was accused of plotting with top aides to stay in office by decree despite the election loss, and was convicted of charges including attempted coup and attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law. He has denied wrongdoing and called the case a political witch hunt.

Both sides of the political divide criticize the decision

The former president started serving his sentence in November in a 12-square-metre room at the federal police headquarters, which included a bed, a private bathroom, air conditioning, a TV set and a desk. In January, he was transferred to a 54-square-metre room with a 10-square-metre outside area that he could access at will at the Papuda penitentiary.

Bolsonaro remains popular in Brazil and one of his sons, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, is in a competitive position against Lula in polls ahead of October’s presidential election. The former president is ineligible and will not be allowed to take a public role in any campaign.

In his ruling, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes stressed that Bolsonaro’s transition to house arrest is conditional and that he could return to prison if he violates house imprisonment rules regardless of his medical condition.

Bolsonaro will wear an ankle monitor and is not allowed to communicate with anyone outside his home. He is not allowed to host visitors except for doctors, family members and his lawyers. Police will watch his house and protesters won’t be allowed to gather near it.

Law professor Marcelo Crespo of ESPM university in Sao Paulo said it is unusual for house imprisonment rulings like Bolsonaro’s to include a review after 90 days, but he said de Moraes was seeking “some middle ground by not granting house imprisonment for an undetermined period.” As recently as November, de Moraes deemed the former president to be a flight risk.

The 90-day review has drawn criticism from both sides of the political divide.

Bolsonaro’s family and allies, who consider de Moraes an adversary, have criticized the temporary nature of the house imprisonment. Detractors of the former president are also upset, saying he is receiving lenient treatment despite his long history of advocating for harsh penalties for convicts.

The judge faces a separate scandal

Bolsonaro’s shift to house arrest comes as de Moraes and his wife are entangled in a scandal involving the multibillion-dollar collapse of Banco Master, which was shut down in late 2025 by the Central Bank amid allegations of fraud involving businesspeople and politicians across the ideological spectrum.

De Moraes, who until recently was hailed as a hero by adversaries of the former president, has been under fire since January from both critics and allies of Bolsonaro over the justice’s ties to the bank, which have raised concerns over conflicts of interest. They include his wife’s former multimillion-dollar contract to provide legal services to the bank.

De Moraes has denied wrongdoing.

Political analyst Thomas Traumann, who has written books about Brazil’s political divisions, attributed de Moraes’ decision to grant Bolsonaro house imprisonment to political pressure over his links to the Banco Master scandal.

“If it were up to him alone, he wouldn’t let Bolsonaro go home,” Traumann said.

Traumann noted that Bolsonaro had health problems before going to prison, and that Brazil’s Supreme Court has always been close to politics. “De Moraes needed to show some good will,” he said.

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Mauricio Savarese, The Associated Press