🔗 Share this article

Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.

The former head of state was sentenced of orchestrating a military coup in last fall and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending court reviews.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.

This involved attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a chance to flee".

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the magistrate said intelligence from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his flight.

This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his child.

His child, his son Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your sofa? I invite you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so backers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's move to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.

The court filing emphasizes that the United States embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, causing him to impose a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being kept in a national police facility in the capital and will have a custody hearing on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be authorized to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Details of Guilty Verdict

He was determined responsible of leading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his political opponent, President Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plan which included plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The conspiracy was stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed official structures in the national capital, Brazil's capital.

The security forces stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.

The justices found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the end of his sentence.

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.