Top court upholds ruling keeping former president detained in Brasília after conviction for leading a 2022 coup attempt.

Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court has unanimously rejected a request for house arrest filed by former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year and three-month prison sentence for leading an attempted coup in 2022.

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The First Chamber of the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil (STF) confirmed on Thursday a previous decision by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the rapporteur in the case, who on March 2 ruled that Bolsonaro must remain detained at the 19th Battalion of the Military Police of the Federal District, known as Papudinha, in Brasília.

The ruling affirms Moraes’ assessment that there are no grounds to justify transferring the former president to house arrest.

Text Reads: Moraes and Dino vote to keep Bolsonaro imprisoned in ‘Papudinha’. The Supreme Court’s First Panel began analyzing, in the virtual plenary, whether or not to uphold Moraes’ decision rejecting a new request for house arrest. This judgment concludes on Thursday night. Ministers Cristiano Zanin and Cármen Lúcia are still voting. The trend is that the panel will confirm Moraes’ understanding (G1).

According to the magistrate, the detention facility guarantees the necessary medical care. In rejecting the request, Moraes also recalled an attempt last year by Bolsonaro to violate the conditions of his electronic ankle monitor.

Bolsonaro’s defense team filed the request on February 11, citing a medical report and arguing that converting the sentence into house arrest would constitute a humanitarian measure supported by previous jurisprudence of the court.

Although the petition referenced a Federal Police report suggesting that possible neurological symptoms in Bolsonaro should be evaluated, the same document ruled out the need for hospitalization.

In his decision, Moraes also pointed to the frequent visits Bolsonaro receives from political allies, which he said demonstrate ongoing political activity and a physical and mental condition compatible with the current detention regime.

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