🔗 Share this article

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

The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a military coup in the ninth month and given more than 27 years in incarceration, but he remained under home detention pending appeals.

Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" were revealed.

This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a summons to a public vigil that could "allow for a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a document approving the arrest, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing 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 assisted by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his son.

His son, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a meeting of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.

The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or see it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to struggle with us."

He said the vigil would be so supporters could offer prayers for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's decision was the potential of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist US President President Trump, prompting him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being held in a Federal Police station in the capital and will have a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that the former president be allowed to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

He was determined responsible of leading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.

High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which included plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing the former president's case.

The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the backing of the military leaders. Lula was inaugurated without problem on the first day of 2023.

But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.

The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were detained.

The magistrates found that the rioters had been provoked by him whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also banned from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the completion of his term.

The one-time head of state called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the next presidential race.