Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was discharged from a hospital Sunday after three weeks recovering from major abdominal surgery – and wasted no time renewing calls for amnesty for supporters jailed over the January 2023 storming of government buildings following his election defeat.
The 70-year-old had earlier announced on social media that he was set to be discharged after undergoing surgery for an intestinal obstruction.
“What hurts the most is seeing innocent people with sentences of up to 17 years in prison,” Bolsonaro told reporters and supporters outside DF Star Hospital in Brasilia.
“Some say amnesty is forgiveness and what happened is unforgivable. But there was no bloodshed, no firearms – nothing,” the far-right leader added.
"I'm going home renewed. My next challenge: joining the Peaceful March for Humanitarian Amnesty on Wednesday, May 7," he wrote on X.
However, his surgeon, Claudio Birolini, urged him not to take part in the march, citing a three-to-four-week recovery period, a soft diet and the need to avoid crowds and physical exertion.
Bolsonaro was hospitalized for his sixth surgery related to a 2018 stabbing. He was admitted to a hospital in Brasilia after experiencing severe abdominal pain during a political event in Brazil’s northeast.
That cut short a tour aimed at drumming up support for the amnesty initiative targeting those convicted over the riots after his narrow election loss to leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2022.
Allies of the former president are pushing a bill in Congress for broad amnesty that could also benefit Bolsonaro himself.
Brazil’s Supreme Court has ruled that Bolsonaro should stand trial for allegedly plotting to overturn the election result.
The former president, who is currently barred from running for office, denies any wrongdoing.
