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The ex-president’s wife says he fell out of his prison bed while sleeping and hit his head.
Published On 6 Jan 2026
Brazil’s jailed ex-president, Jair Bolsonaro, fell and struck his head in his prison cell, but his request to go to a hospital was denied by the country’s top judge.
The 70-year-old right-wing leader fell out of bed while sleeping and hit his head on a piece of furniture, his wife, Michelle Bolsonaro, wrote on Instagram on Tuesday.
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“We are going to the hospital. My love will undergo exams,” Michelle Bolsonaro said.
However, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes denied Bolsonaro’s request to immediately leave prison for tests at a hospital in Brasilia.
The federal police said in a statement that Bolsonaro received initial medical treatment in the morning, adding that a federal police doctor “found minor injuries” and saw no need for hospitalisation.
“Any referral to a hospital depends on authorisation from the Supreme Court,” it added.
Bolsonaro, who was stabbed in the abdomen during a 2018 campaign event, has a history of hospitalisations and surgeries related to the attack.
Citing the police report, de Moraes said in his decision that there is no need for Bolsonaro to be immediately taken to hospital. The judge said his legal team has the right to request exams for Bolsonaro, but lawyers must schedule them in advance and provide information justifying the procedures.
Bolsonaro underwent a series of medical procedures in December to treat a hernia and hiccups.
He was discharged from hospital on January 1 and taken back to the Federal Police Superintendency in Brasilia, where he is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 presidential election.
