🔗 Share this article

The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.

The ex-president was sentenced of orchestrating a government overthrow in last fall and given more than 27 years in jail, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.

This involved trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his flight.

This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his child.

His son, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.

His son wrote on digital networks on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or watch it all from your phone there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so followers could "pray for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's decision was the chance of his move to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the United States embassy in the capital, the capital city, is located around 8 miles from his dwelling.

International Reactions

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

He is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will have a imprisonment assessment on the following day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with digital surveillance.

They also asked that Bolsonaro be allowed to depart his residence for medical care, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

The former president was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plan which included plans to murder Lula and his running partner, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The conspiracy was thwarted because it didn't receive the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the capital, Brasília.

The law enforcement took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.

The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to take action, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

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

The one-time head of state called the trial a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the next presidential race.