Brazil's ex-president Bolsonaro operated on for hernia

Brazil's jailed former president Jair Bolsonaro has undergone surgery for a bilateral hernia, his son Flavio said on Thursday.

The operation, carried out at a hospital in the capital Brasília, was successful, Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on the social media platform X.

According to a report by the news portal G1, the 70-year-old is expected to remain in hospital for a week.

Bolsonaro has undergone several operations in recent years following a stabbing attack during the 2018 presidential election campaign, in which he was seriously injured.

A federal judge authorized the latest medical procedure. The former president, who held office from 2019 to 2022, has been serving a more than 27-year prison sentence since late November for attempting to overthrow the government.

Prosecutors accused him of planning a coup against the government of his successor Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, after he was voted out of office.

However, the judge denied a request by Bolsonaro's lawyers for him to serve his sentence under house arrest for health reasons.

He justified this with Bolsonaro's repeated offences against conditions and escape attempts. For example, he had damaged his electronic ankle bracelet with a soldering iron the night before his arrest.