🔗 Share this article

Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.

The ex-president was sentenced of plotting a government overthrow in last fall and sentenced more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending appeals.

High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after fresh information were revealed.

This encompassed attempting to break his ankle monitor and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his getaway".

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

His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his backers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

His son wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to battle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our country."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the judge's ruling was the chance of his move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.

The legal document highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from his dwelling.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist American leader President Trump, prompting him to implement a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that he be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Details of Guilty Verdict

Bolsonaro was convicted of heading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plan which involved plans to kill the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The scheme was stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, many Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.

The law enforcement took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.

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

At the moment, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The one-time head of state called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him competing in the next presidential race.