🔗 Share this article

The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.

The ex-president was found guilty of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and handed more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under home detention pending appeals.

High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after fresh information were revealed.

This encompassed attempting to break his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the judge said information from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his getaway".

This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his son.

His son, his son Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or see it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I call on you to battle with us."

He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the possibility of his move to embassies near the home, considering that the probes revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.

International Reactions

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, prompting him to implement a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being held in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on the following day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also asked that he be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

The former president was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the backing of the armed forces officials. Lula was took office without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised government buildings in the capital, Brasília.

The law enforcement intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.

The judges found that the protesters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the completion of his term.

The former president called the trial a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the next presidential race.