🔗 Share this article

Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.

The former head of state was found guilty of planning a military coup in September and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after recent developments were revealed.

This included attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his getaway".

This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son.

His son, Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on the previous day: Will you battle for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to fight with us."

He said the gathering would be so followers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a embassy office", a announcement said.

The legal document underscores that the United States embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, leading him to implement a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Top Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with digital surveillance.

They also asked that the former president be permitted to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Details of Guilty Verdict

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

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was took office without issue on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, many his backers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the capital, Brasília.

The police stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.

The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to step in, restore order and bring him back to power.

At the period, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also prohibited from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.

The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the next presidential race.