🔗 Share this article

Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.

The ex-president was found guilty of orchestrating a armed takeover in last fall and handed more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.

This included attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could facilitate a chance to flee".

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a document approving the detention, Justice Moraes said information from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his son.

His son, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a gathering of his followers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

The senator wrote on online platforms on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your country, or see it all from your phone there on your couch? I urge you to fight with us."

He said the gathering would be so backers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our nation."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of the former president's transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of organizing to seek refuge through a consular facility", a statement said.

The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

Worldwide Consequences

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President Donald Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

The former president is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will have a custody hearing on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also asked that the former president be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, Lula.

High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to murder Lula and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The scheme was thwarted because it didn't receive the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, numerous his backers attacked and damaged government buildings in the capital, the capital city.

The police took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.

The magistrates found that the rioters had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.

At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

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

The former president called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.