Brazilian Supreme Court (STF) Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered on Thursday (15) the transfer of Jair Bolsonaro to the 19th Military Police Battalion, known as Papudinha, one of the units within the Papuda Penitentiary Complex in Brasília (DF), which houses inmates with special prerogatives. Convicted for his role in the coup plot and sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison, the former president had been held at the Federal Police (PF) headquarters.
According to the STF, Bolsonaro will be placed in a cell similar to that of former Justice Minister Anderson Torres. He will have access to a television, as well as 24-hour medical and religious assistance. Justice Moraes authorized round-the-clock medical care for the former president, immediate transfer to hospitals in case of emergency, physical therapy, and the daily provision of special meals.
The cell where Bolsonaro will be held measures 54 square meters and includes a bedroom, bathroom, laundry area, kitchen, living room, and an outdoor area of 10 square meters.
In December, Bolsonaro was authorized to temporarily leave prison to undergo surgery at the DF Star Hospital in Brasília.
Bolsonaro’s defense had already requested that the former president be included in a sentence-reduction program and, on Wednesday (14), filed a request for humanitarian house arrest, which was denied.
Due to his clinical condition, Bolsonaro will also receive special meals and may receive visits from family members at designated times.
In his decision, Moraes noted that Brazil’s prison system has long faced precarious conditions for inmates, and that the conditions under which Bolsonaro is being held distinguish the former president from the other 384,586 convicted prisoners serving closed-regime sentences.
Bolsonaro has been detained since November at the Federal Police headquarters following his 27-year conviction for the coup plot. He had previously been under house arrest since August 4 and was taken to the PF headquarters after being preventively detained at his home in Brasília.
Justice Moraes had previously denied house arrest for the former president.
