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The health of Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro has worsened after intestinal surgery earlier this month, according to his medical team.<\/p>\n
The 70-year-old remains in intensive care and will undergo new tests.<\/p>\n
Bolsonaro was visited in hospital by a court official on Wednesday, who delivered a summons giving him five days to present his initial defence against coup charges, in preparation for his trial.<\/p>\n
Bolsonaro has been ordered to stand trial after charges that he directed an alleged right-wing coup attempt <\/b>after he lost the 2022 presidential election to the left-wing President Lula da Silva.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In a video of the summons being delivered, Bolsonaro could be seen reacting furiously, saying: “I have five days to present my defence?”<\/p>\n During the alleged coup attempt, Bolsonaro’s supporters stormed government buildings. Investigations by the police outlined allegations he had personal conversations – including with figures from the armed forces – about the idea of a coup to cling onto power.<\/p>\n His earlier intestinal surgery was in response to ongoing health issues after he was stabbed in 2018 on the campaign trail in the south eastern state of Minas Gerais.<\/p>\n He lost around 40% of his blood and had emergency surgery, with the perpetrator later declared mentally unfit to stand trial.<\/p>\n He has repeatedly denied coup allegations and accused his opponents of a political witch-hunt.<\/p>\n A day before he was delivered the summons in hospital, he recorded a live YouTube broadcast from his hospital bed with three of his sons, despite a doctor’s recommendation not to have visitors.<\/p>\n The Brazilian Supreme Court argued that this showed he was able to be summoned and notified.<\/p>\n Bolsonaro had been hoping to contest the presidential elections again in 2026, despite a current ban on running for office, but he risks a 40-year prison sentence if found guilty.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n