Pedro Rousseff challenges senators' request in the Supreme Court in favor of Bolsonaro.
City councilor claims that the request for house arrest at the Supreme Court does not meet legal criteria and questions the actions of the former president's defense team.
247 - The city councilor of Belo Horizonte (MG), Pedro Rousseff (PT), presented to the Supreme Federal Court (STF) a statement opposing the request filed by senators of the Republic who are requesting the granting of humanitarian house arrest to Jair Bolsonaro (PL). The document was sent to Minister Alexandre de Moraes, rapporteur of the case in the STF.
In September 2025, Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced by the Supreme Federal Court (STF) to 27 years and 3 months in prison for five crimes related to the attempted coup d'état during the 2022 elections.
Understand the case
In the petition, Rousseff argues that the parliamentarians' initiative does not meet the legal parameters nor the consolidated jurisprudence of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) on the subject. According to the councilman, the Court's understanding establishes that humanitarian house arrest requires not only the existence of health problems, but also proof that medical treatment cannot be carried out within the scope of state custody, a condition that has not been demonstrated in the request presented by the senators.
Rousseff also states that Jair Bolsonaro has been receiving continuous medical care, with court authorizations for examinations, consultations, and external procedures whenever necessary. He emphasizes that Bolsonaro is in the custody of the Federal Police (PF), a structure that offers superior conditions to those of the common prison system.
Questioning the actions of the senators.
In the filed document, the councilman directly criticizes the role of the parliamentarians who signed the request. According to Rousseff, by alleging that the custody represents a risk to Bolsonaro's physical integrity, the senators are essentially implying that the former president's legal defense is not acting adequately.
According to the text, this stance creates a significant legal contradiction, since the legal system provides its own instruments to deal with any shortcomings in the defense, without the need to relax the custody regime.
Technical defense under debate
Rousseff argues that, should there be any doubt regarding the performance of Bolsonaro's lawyers, the appropriate constitutional course of action would be to assess the adequacy of the legal defense, with the possibility of replacing the lawyers, as provided for in criminal procedure law.
"If senators stop working for the people to file petitions in a criminal case, the question remains: what's the point of having a lawyer?", the councilman stated in the petition submitted to the Supreme Court.
At the end of her request, Rousseff asks the Supreme Court to completely reject the request for humanitarian house arrest submitted by the senators. Subsidiarily, she requests that the Supreme Court assess the adequacy of the legal defense currently provided to Bolsonaro, and, if deemed necessary, order its replacement.
