Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro will continue to serve his 27-year sentence for a coup attempt at home instead of in prison due to failing health, a judge ruled.

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Tuesday (March 24, 2026) allowed the 71-year-old to return to his residence in the capital, Brasilia, after he is discharged from the hospital, but he argued in his decision that he will review the case within 90 days.

Bolsonaro will wear an ankle monitor and is not allowed to use cellphones, the judge ruled. Local police will surveil his house in a gated community, where protesters are not allowed to gather. Bolsonaro is not allowed any visitors except for doctors and family members.

The embattled leader has been hospitalized since March 13 for pneumonia, one of several health problems he has faced since he was stabbed by a man in 2018 before he was elected president.

Mr. De Moraes had previously rejected similar requests from Bolsonaro’s family.

“After that deadline, we will analyze once again whether the necessary requirements for keeping the humanitarian house arrest stand, including a medical examination if necessary,” the judge said in his ruling.

Mr. De Moraes, who oversaw the former President’s coup case and is deemed by Bolsonaro’s supporters as a foe, stressed in his decision that the former President will return either to prison or to a hospital if he does not comply with the rules of his house arrest.

Bolsonaro governed between 2019 and 2022 and remains popular, polls show. One of his sons, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, says his father chose him to run for the presidency in October. Polls show he is in a dead heat with incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Brazil’s Attorney General Paulo Gonet on Monday (March 23, 2026) said he agreed with Bolsonaro being sent home for health reasons, paving the way for him to be put under house imprisonment instead of returning to prison.