jailed

Bolsonaro’s operation addressed a painful double hernia; doctors anticipate five to seven days of hospitalisation.

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a prison sentence for an attempted coup, underwent a “successful” surgery for an inguinal hernia, his wife has said.

The 70-year-old former leader left prison on Wednesday for the first time since late November to undergo the procedure on Thursday at the DF Star Hospital in Brasilia.

“Successful surgery completed, without complications. Now we wait for him to wake up from anaesthesia,” his wife Michelle announced in an Instagram post.

Bolsonaro has been serving a 27-year term since November for an attempted coup. He was granted court permission to leave prison after federal police doctors confirmed that he needed the procedure.

Doctors say Bolsonaro’s double hernia causes him pain. The former leader, who was in power between 2019 and 2022, has gone through several other surgeries since he was stabbed in the abdomen during a campaign rally in 2018. He was also diagnosed with skin cancer recently.

Doctors for the far-right president from 2019 to 2022 anticipated that his hospitalisation would last between five and seven more days.

The surgery was to repair an inguinal hernia – a protrusion in the groin area due to a tear in the abdominal muscles.

“It is a complex surgery,” Dr Claudio Birolini said on Wednesday. “But it is a standardised … scheduled surgery, so we expect the procedure to be carried out without major complications.”

After the operation, doctors are to assess whether Bolsonaro can undergo an additional procedure: blockage of the phrenic nerve, which controls the diaphragm, for recurrent hiccups, Birolini said.

Brazil’s Supreme Court sentenced Bolsonaro to prison in September after he was found guilty of having led a scheme to prevent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office and to retain power.

Bolsonaro has maintained his innocence, declaring he was a victim of political persecution.

He has been confined to a small room with a minibar, air conditioning and a television at the federal police headquarters in Brasilia.

Succession

Early on Thursday, his eldest son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, told reporters before the surgery that his father had written a letter confirming he had appointed him as the Liberal Party’s presidential candidate in next year’s election. Flavio announced on December 5 that he would challenge Lula, who is seeking a fourth nonconsecutive term, as the party’s candidate.

The senator read the letter to journalists, and his office released a reproduction of it to the media.

“He represents the continuation of the path of prosperity that I began well before becoming president, as I believe we must restore the responsibility of leading Brazil with justice, resolve and loyalty to the aspirations of the Brazilian people,” Bolsonaro said in the handwritten letter, dated Thursday.

According to Flavio, the letter sought to clarify any “doubt” about his father’s support for his presidential bid.

“Many people say they had not heard it from his own mouth or had not seen a letter signed by him. I believe this clears up any shadow of doubt,” he said after reading the letter.

The former president and several of his allies were convicted by a panel of Supreme Court justices for attempting to overthrow Brazil’s democratic system following his 2022 election defeat.

A Briton who fought in Ukraine has been sentenced to 13 years in a maximum-security prison, the Russian Prosecutor-General’s office has said.

Hayden Davies, a former British soldier who Russia has called a mercenary, was reportedly captured in Ukraine’s Donbas region in late 2024 or early 2025 while serving with the country’s foreign legion.

He was tried in a Russian-controlled court in the city of Donetsk, which is currently occupied by Moscow.

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) said it strongly condemned the sentencing of Mr Davies “on false charges”, adding he was a prisoner of war.

It said: “We remain in close contact with Mr Davies’ family and are providing consular support.”

The FCDO said that under international law, prisoners of war cannot be prosecuted for participating in hostilities.

It added: “We demand that Russia respect these obligations, including those under the Geneva Conventions, and stop using prisoners of war for political and propaganda purposes.”

In a statement, Russian prosecutors said Mr Davies joined the Ukrainian army in August 2024 and “took part in military operations against the Russian armed forces on the territory of [Donetsk Region]”.

In court footage released by prosecutors, a man with a British accent speaks via a translator from inside a barred cage, which is standard practice for many Russian hearings.

The man said he was a member of the Ukrainian Army’s foreign legion and travelled to Ukraine by bus via Poland.

He said he was paid $400 (£300) or $500 a month as a salary. When asked if he pleaded guilty to the charge, the man said “yeah” and nodded his head.

It is not clear whether he was speaking under duress.

Earlier this year, the FCDO also criticised the case brought against James Anderson, another Briton captured fighting with Ukraine forces, after he was jailed for 19 years for terrorism and mercenary activity.

The 22-year-old was the first British national to be convicted by Russia during the war.

A British driver who injured more than 130 people by ploughing his car into a crowd of Liverpool football fans during a championship victory parade in May has been sentenced to 21-and-a-half years.

Paul Doyle, 54, rammed his minivan into the mass of fans in the city of Liverpool simply because he lost his temper, according to prosecutors. Last month, he pleaded guilty to charges including nine counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and 17 counts of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm.

“The footage is truly shocking,” Judge Andrew Menary said on Tuesday.

“It is difficult if not impossible to convey in words alone the scenes of devastation you caused. It shows you deliberately accelerating into groups of fans, time and time again.”

More to come…