Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently imprisoned, has undergone surgery for a bilateral hernia at a hospital in the capital, Brasília. The procedure was successful, according to a statement shared by his son, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, on social media.

The 70-year-old former leader is expected to remain hospitalized for about one week as part of his recovery. Bolsonaro has faced recurring health complications in recent years, largely stemming from the knife attack he suffered during the 2018 presidential campaign. Since then, he has undergone multiple abdominal surgeries. In this case, the medical procedure had been previously authorized by a federal judge after reviewing the documentation submitted by his legal team.

The former president, who governed Brazil from 2019 to 2022, has been serving a prison sentence of more than 27 years since late November. He was convicted of planning an attempted coup against the government of his successor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, following his electoral defeat. The court maintains that Bolsonaro played a central role in efforts to undermine the election results.

Despite the recent surgery, the judge overseeing the case denied a request for house arrest filed by Bolsonaro’s lawyers on health grounds. In the ruling, the judge cited repeated violations of judicial conditions, arguing that these actions weakened the credibility of the request and indicated a heightened risk of noncompliance.

According to the court, one of the most serious incidents occurred on the night before his arrest, when Bolsonaro allegedly deliberately damaged his electronic ankle monitor using a soldering tool. This episode was interpreted as a potential attempt to evade custody, leading authorities to keep him detained even during his medical recovery, in a case that remains highly sensitive within Brazil’s political landscape.