SAO PAULO – Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is scheduled to undergo double hernia surgery on Thursday at a hospital in Brasilia, as confirmed by his family.

Bolsonaro has been in custody since November, serving a 27-year prison sentence for his involvement in an attempted coup. He was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday and received court approval to temporarily leave prison for the surgery after federal police doctors verified the necessity of the procedure.

The medical team at DF Star hospital in Brasilia stated that the surgery is anticipated to take approximately four hours. Bolsonaro’s condition, which involves a double hernia, has reportedly been causing him significant discomfort.

The former president, who governed Brazil from 2019 to 2022, has undergone multiple surgeries following a severe abdominal injury sustained during a campaign event in 2018. This latest operation adds to his history of medical procedures.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who presided over Bolsonaro’s trial and subsequent imprisonment, approved the surgical procedure but denied his request for house arrest following his hospital discharge.

Bolsonaro doesn’t have any contact with the few other inmates at the federal police headquarters in Brasilia, where he is held and where his 12-square-meter (around 130-square-foot) room has a bed, a private bathroom, air conditioning, a television and a desk, according to authorities.

He has free access to his doctors and lawyers, but other visitors must receive approval from the Supreme Court. On Wednesday, de Moraes authorized Bolsonaro’s sons to visit him while he’s hospitalized. His wife, Michelle Bolsonaro, is accompanying him.

Early Thursday, his eldest son, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, told reporters before the surgery that his father had written a letter confirming he had appointed him as his political party’s presidential candidate in next year’s election. Flávio Bolsonaro announced on Dec. 5 that he will challenge President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is seeking a fourth nonconsecutive term, as the candidate of Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party.

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 Dec. 25.

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.

The plot included plans to kill Lula, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and de Moraes. There was also a plan to encourage an insurrection in early 2023.

Bolsonaro was also convicted on charges that include leading an armed criminal organization and attempting the violent abolition of the democratic rule of law. He has denied any wrongdoing.

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