MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolsonaro denied hospital trip after fall

Michelle Bolsonaro fears her husband might have “neurological damage” after a fall that remained untreated for a while

Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) Justice Alexandre De Moraes denied on Tuesday a request from former President Jair Bolsonaro's legal team to have their client transferred to a medical facility after suffering what his relatives claim was a fall while locked up at the Federal Police's headquarters in Brasilia to serve his 27-year prison sentence for masterminding the Jan. 8, 2023, attempted coup d'état.

De Moraes based his decision on the assessment of the Federal Police team. “The Federal Police doctor found minor injuries and did not identify the need for hospital referral, recommending only observation,” the Judge pointed out. Hence, there was “no need for immediate transfer of the detainee to the hospital.”

He added that Bolsonaro's defense, however, was advised by the former president's private doctor that he would be entitled to undergo tests, “provided they are scheduled in advance and with specific and proven need.”

The magistrate also instructed Bolsonaro's counselors to indicate which tests are necessary so that “the possibility of performing them in the prison system can be verified.”

Former First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro wrote on Instagram that her husband had a “crisis.”

“My love is not well. During the night, while he was sleeping, he had a seizure, fell, and hit his head on the furniture,” she stated, highlighting that medical attention was only provided on Tuesday morning, when Bolsonaro was called for a visit at 9 a.m. According to her, this delay occurred because the room “remains closed.”

Additionally, she mentioned that the retired Army captain did not remember “how long he was unconscious” and that tests would be necessary to check for possible “trauma or neurological damage.”

Bolsonaro's personal physician Dr. Cláudio Birolini told the press that his patient had suffered “minor trauma.” (Source: Agencia Brasil)