🔗 Share this article

The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.

The former head of state was found guilty of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than 27 years in jail, but he continued under house arrest pending court reviews.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" emerged.

This encompassed trying to remove his ankle monitor and a summons to a demonstration that could enable a chance to flee".

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a document approving the arrest, the judge said data from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.

This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his son.

His offspring, his son Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.

The senator wrote on social media on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or see it all from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so supporters could offer prayers for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our land."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's determination was the chance of his "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Trump, leading him to implement a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.

He is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will experience a custody hearing on the following day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that the former president be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his political opponent, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to kill the current president and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.

The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, many his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

The police intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.

The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by him whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and bring him back to power.

At the moment, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also prohibited from running for public office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 national vote.