Brazil court allows Bolsonaro to leave prison for surgery

• Brazil’s Supreme Court granted Jair Bolsonaro a temporary medical release from prison to undergo surgery for an inguinal hernia on December 25 at a private clinic in Brasília.
• The former president is currently serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup to remain in power after his 2022 defeat, a conviction he continues to denounce as political persecution.

Brazil's Supreme Court on Tuesday granted a request by ex-president Jair Bolsonaro to leave prison to undergo surgery on December 25, court documents showed.

Bolsonaro is currently serving a 27-year sentence after being convicted of plotting a coup to remain in power following his 2022 re-election loss.

His request was for transfer to a hospital on Wednesday, then surgery on Christmas day Thursday.

The approval by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversaw Bolsonaro's trial, comes after an expert review last week stated that the operation was medically necessary.

The far-right leader, 70, has faced repeated health issues since being stabbed in the stomach during the 2018 presidential campaign.

Health Issues

His latest problem is an inguinal hernia, a protrusion in the groin area due to a tear in the abdominal muscles.

The operation is scheduled to be completed at the DF Star, a private clinic in Brazil's capital where Bolsonaro underwent another surgery in April.

The ex-president has been detained since November at federal police headquarters in Brasilia.

In office from 2019 to 2022, he was sentenced by the Supreme Court in September to prison after being found guilty of having led a scheme to prevent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office.

He has maintained his innocence, declaring he was a victim of political persecution.