BRASILIA, Jan 1, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Lawyers for Brazil's far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro asked a court Wednesday to convert his prison sentence for plotting a coup to house arrest, as he prepared to leave hospital a week after surgery.

Doctors earlier said Bolsonaro, 70, can be discharged on New Year's Day following an operation for a groin hernia.

He had the surgery on Christmas Day, followed by another procedure two days later 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, Brazil's Supreme Court found Bolsonaro guilty of conspiring to stay in power after losing 2022 elections to leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

He is serving a 27-year sentence.

Bolsonaro's cardiologist Brasil Caiado told reporters that barring complications, the former president would be discharged from the DF Star private clinic on Thursday.

"Everything is going well from a postoperative standpoint," added surgeon Claudio Birolini.

Meanwhile, Bolsonaro's defense team filed a request with the Supreme Court Wednesday that he be allowed to continue serving his sentence at home due to a "real risk" to his health.

"Keeping this patient in a penitentiary as soon as he leaves the hospital would expose him to the real risk of a sudden worsening of his health condition," said a document filed with the court and seen by AFP.

The medical report attached to Bolsonaro's request for house arrest said he could face "serious complications" including the possible risk of pneumonia or stroke if he were unable to access needed health care.

Bolsonaro's mental health was also cited as a reason to grant house arrest.

A similar previous request was denied several weeks ago, but his lawyers say his situation has changed dramatically since then.

Bolsonaro had been under house arrest until shortly before the start of his jail term, but was detained and sent to prison after he took a soldering iron to his ankle monitoring bracelet in what the court saw as an escape attempt.

Bolsonaro has denied wrongdoing and claims to be the victim of political persecution.