🔗 Share this article

Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.

The one-time leader was convicted of planning a government overthrow in the ninth month and given more than 27 years in prison, but he was staying under confinement pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after fresh information came to light.

This involved seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks

In a document approving the custody, the magistrate said intelligence from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his child.

His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.

His son wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Will you battle for your homeland, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your sofa? I call on you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the possibility of Bolsonaro's move to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of arranging to request asylum through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist United States President Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

The former president is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the High Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be allowed to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed ongoing care for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Context of Sentencing

He was determined responsible of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his running partner, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The plot was prevented because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. The current president was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.

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

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

The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to step in, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the moment, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.

He was also barred from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The former president called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 national vote.