Former Brazilian President Bolsonaro returns to prison after hospital exams

By Ricardo Brito

BRASILIA, Jan 7 (Reuters) – Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro returned to prison on Wednesday after undergoing a series of hospital exams for a fall and knock to the head, his wife Michelle Bolsonaro said in a post on Instagram.

The exams in a hospital in Brasilia, which included a CT scan and MRI, identified a mild traumatic brain injury, his doctor, Brasil Caiado, told reporters. Caiado added that the finding was not concerning and no intracranial injury was detected.

Doctors suspect Bolsonaro, who has been serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 presidential election to leftist current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, could be experiencing dizziness and imbalance linked to the medicine he takes to treat hiccups, Caiado said.

Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes authorized Bolsonaro to leave prison for the tests after the former president hit his head Tuesday night, a court decision showed on Wednesday.

Moraes had initially denied an earlier request for Bolsonaro to leave prison on Tuesday, arguing there was no need for him to be immediately taken to hospital.

Bolsonaro underwent a series of medical procedures in December to treat a hernia and hiccups. The former president was stabbed in the abdomen during a 2018 campaign event and has a history of hospitalizations and surgeries related to the attack.

(Reporting by Ricardo Brito in Brasilia and Andre Romani in Sao Paulo; Editing by Gabriel Araujo and Paul Simao)