🔗 Share this article

Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.

The one-time leader was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in the ninth month and sentenced more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after fresh information came to light.

This encompassed attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight.

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

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a senator, called for a assembly of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.

His son wrote on digital networks on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to struggle with us."

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

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's transfer to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from his dwelling.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader Trump, causing him to implement a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review 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 serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that he be permitted to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he required ongoing care for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the presidential race to his ideological adversary, President Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The conspiracy was stopped because it didn't receive the support of the military leaders. Lula was inaugurated without incident on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on January 8th, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

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

The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.

At the time, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The former president called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 presidential election.