Former Brazilian President Bolsonaro hospitalised in Brasilia after falling ill under house arrest

BRASILIA(Brazil): Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to prison last week for plotting a coup, was hospitalised on Tuesday after falling ill while under house arrest, his son said, as reported by Al Jazeera.

The 70-year-old former army captain was taken for emergency treatment in Brasilia, the second time since his conviction. Bolsonaro has faced recurring intestinal problems since he was stabbed during the 2018 election campaign, undergoing several surgeries, including a 12-hour procedure in April.

“Bolsonaro felt unwell a short while ago, with a severe bout of hiccups, vomiting, and low blood pressure,” his son, Flavio, wrote on X. “He was taken to DF Star [Hospital] accompanied by correctional police officers who guard his home in Brasilia, as it was an emergency,” he added.

On Sunday, Bolsonaro visited the same hospital, where doctors removed eight skin lesions for biopsies, Al Jazeera reported.

Earlier on Thursday, a panel of Supreme Court justices convicted the former leader of plotting a coup after his defeat in the 2022 election to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, sentencing him to 27 years and three months in prison. The ruling does not immediately send him to jail, as the court has up to 60 days to publish the decision, after which Bolsonaro’s lawyers can file motions for clarification.

Bolsonaro has denied any wrongdoing and described the case as political persecution. “United States President Donald Trump has also called the trial a ‘witch-hunt’, and imposed tariffs of 50 per cent on Brazilian goods, citing the case against Bolsonaro, among other issues,” Al Jazeera reported.

Since August, Bolsonaro has been under house arrest for allegedly courting pressure on the courts from Trump. He has also been required to wear an ankle monitor.

Separately on Tuesday, a federal court ordered Bolsonaro to pay 1 million reais (USD 188,865) in damages for collective moral harm over racist comments made while in office. The ruling stemmed from his 2021 remarks to a Black supporter in which he joked about seeing a cockroach in the man’s hair and compared the hairstyle to a “cockroach breeding ground.” His defence team has insisted the comments were intended as jokes and denied any racist intent.

Public opinion in Brazil remains divided on Bolsonaro’s conviction, with his allies pushing for ways to reduce or overturn the sentence. Supporters in Congress have rallied behind an amnesty bill, while Sao Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas has pledged to pardon the former leader if elected president in 2026. Bolsonaro is currently barred from contesting elections until 2030, though he has maintained that he will run in 2026.

For his part, Lula hailed Bolsonaro’s sentencing as a “historic decision” that came after months of investigations which uncovered plans to assassinate him, the vice president, and a Supreme Court justice. He said the verdict “safeguards” Brazil’s institutions and democratic rule of law, Al Jazeera reported. (ANI)