🔗 Share this article

Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.

The ex-president was sentenced of orchestrating a military coup in the ninth month and given more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.

This encompassed trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a paperwork permitting the detention, Justice Moraes said data from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".

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

His son, his son Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I urge you to fight with us."

He said the vigil would be so followers could "pray for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the possibility of his move to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a record of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.

The court filing emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

Worldwide Consequences

His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist US President Donald Trump, causing him to impose a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that the former president be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

The former president was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his political opponent, President Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to murder his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The scheme was thwarted because it didn't receive the backing of the armed forces officials. The current president was sworn in without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a week later, on January 8th, numerous his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the federal district, the capital city.

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

The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and return him to office.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.

The ex-leader called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him running in the next presidential race.