Brazil's Bolsonaro transferred to roomier cell in new prison after judge's order

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was transferred on Thursday to Brasilia's Papuda Penitentiary Complex, providing him with upgraded accommodations after an order from Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the court said.

Bolsonaro had been carrying out his 27-year sentence for plotting a coup in a much smaller cell at Brazil's Federal Police Superintendency.

Bolsonaro's legal defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the decision.

Moraes argued that Bolsonaro might be in better conditions to receive medical assistance and weekly visits from his family in the penitentiary complex than he had in the superintendency. The judge's decision came after complaints from Bolsonaro's family and lawyers about his condition at the cell.

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

Bolivia Roundup: Political trust erodes, fuel crisis deepens, and regions secure a landmark 50/50 agreement

Bolsonaro is set to serve his sentence in a building known as Papudinha, where other Brazilian politicians have been jailed, including Anderson Torres, Brazil's Justice minister under his administration.

The ex-president's new prison cell has about 65 square meters (699.65 square feet), bigger than the 12-square-meter-room he had been in up to this point. The cell includes a bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen, a living room and an outdoor space, the court said, and added that he will serve his sentence alone.

Carlos and Eduardo Bolsonaro, sons of the former president, said in separate posts on social media that Bolsonaro should have been transferred to house arrest instead.

The far-right leader, who has a history of surgeries related to a stabbing he suffered in his abdomen during a 2018 campaign event, has been seeking permission to serve his sentence under "humanitarian house arrest", which Moraes has denied, citing flight risk.