Brazil's Bolsonaro back to hospital after prison fall

Brazil's far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro was taken to a hospital Wednesday, AFP journalists observed, after hitting his head in a fall in prison, where he is serving 27 years for leading a failed coup d'etat.

The 70-year-old was transferred from a federal police detention facility to the DF Star private hospital for a CT scan, MRI and EEG test, according to a supreme court authorization seen by AFP.

Bolsonaro returned to prison on New Year's Day after a week in the hospital following surgery for a groin hernia and a procedure to treat recurring hiccups.

In office from 2019 to 2022, the ex-president has for years been dealing with complications from an abdominal stab wound he suffered during a 2018 campaign rally, requiring several major surgeries.

In September last year, the Supreme Court found Bolsonaro guilty of conspiring to stay in power after narrowly losing 2022 elections to leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. 

Prosecutors said the plot, which included a plan to assassinate Lula, failed for a lack of support from military brass.

Bolsonaro, an ally of US President Donald Trump, dismissed the trial as a "witch hunt" aimed at preventing him from running for president again in 2026. 

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Judges have refused Bolsonaro's requests to serve his prison term under house arrest after he previously took a soldering iron to his ankle monitoring bracelet in what the court saw as an escape attempt.

Bolsonaro said his actions were the result of medication-induced paranoia.

On Tuesday, his wife Michelle said on social media that he had suffered a fall behind bars and hit his head.

Police said he received medical treatment for "minor injuries," but Bolsonaro's defense team went to court with a request for him to be brought to a hospital for further tests.

Bolsonaro's doctor told reporters he had found the ex-leader "sluggish, with a slight droop in the left eyelid, normal blood pressure, and signs of dizziness" after the fall.

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