On Thursday, Brazilian Supreme Court declined the request of former President Jair Bolsonaro to change his prison sentence to a house arrest.

According to a ruling reported across media outlets, Bolsonaro’s lawyers sent the request on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, citing a “Real risk of a sudden worsening” in health for the far-right ex-leader as the reason to serve his 27-year sentence at home.

New Telegraph recalls that the former Brazilian President has been hospitalized for more than a week after undergoing surgery for a groin hernia and then a procedure to treat recurring bouts of hiccups.

“Contrary to what the defense alleges, there has been no worsening of Jair Messias Bolsonaro’s health condition,” judge Alexandre de Moraes said in his decision.

However, the former president has for years been battling with complications from an abdominal stab wound he suffered during a 2018 campaign rally, requiring several major surgeries.

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According to doctors, Bolsonaro is expected to be discharged from the hospital on Thursday, January 1, 2026, after which he will  to return to the small room where he is serving his sentence at a federal police facility in Brasilia.

New Telegraph had earlier reported that Brazil’s Supreme Court found Bolsonaro guilty of conspiring to stay in power after narrowly losing 2022 elections to leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Prosecutors said the plot, which included a plan to assassinate Lula, failed because of a lack of support from military top brass.

Bolsonaro, an ally of US President Donald Trump, dismissed the trial as a “witch hunt” aimed at preventing him from running for president again in 2026.

He has been under house arrest until shortly before the start of his prison term in November.

He was detained and sent to prison after he took a soldering iron to his ankle monitoring bracelet in what the court saw as an escape attempt.