Brasília, Brazil – Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been transferred to a regular hospital room as he continues to recover from pneumonia, according to reports. The development comes as Bolsonaro faces a 27-year prison sentence for attempting to subvert the country’s democratic institutions, a case that has drawn international attention to the fragility of democracy in the region.
Bolsonaro, who served as president from 2019 to 2022, was initially hospitalized on March 13 after falling ill while incarcerated at the Papuda penitentiary in Brasília. He was subsequently moved to semi-intensive care on March 16, but his condition has reportedly improved. Dr. Brasil Caiado, one of Bolsonaro’s physicians, told reporters on Monday that there is currently no established date for his discharge from the hospital.
The former president is serving a sentence stemming from a conviction for leading a coup attempt in 2023. He was moved to a larger cell within the federal police headquarters in January, following repeated requests from his family and allies for house arrest.
Brazil’s Attorney General Paulo Gonet recently agreed with the family’s request, suggesting to Justice Alexandre de Moraes that Bolsonaro be allowed to serve his sentence at home with an ankle monitor. “The clinical evolution of the former president, as shown by the medical team that took care of him in the latest incident, recommends” house imprisonment, Gonet stated in his decision.
Bolsonaro survived an assassination attempt in September 2018, during his successful presidential campaign, and subsequently defeated Fernando Haddad in the October 2018 runoff election, as reported by Wikipedia. He began serving his 27-year sentence in November 2025, following a trial for the 2022–2023 Brazilian coup plot, which concluded in September 2025, resulting in convictions for attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, attempted coup d’état, participation in an armed criminal organization, qualified damage, and deterioration of protected heritage property.
