🔗 Share this article

The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.

The former head of state was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in September and sentenced more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he continued under confinement pending court reviews.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments came to light.

This included attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could facilitate a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks

In a paperwork permitting the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.

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

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a legislator, called for a assembly of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.

His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the vigil would be so followers could "pray for his health and for the return of democracy in our land."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the chance of his "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.

The court filing emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist US President President Trump, leading him to impose a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being held in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

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

They also petitioned that he be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The plot was thwarted because it didn't receive the support of the armed forces officials. The current president was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, the capital city.

The security forces took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.

The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by him whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the period, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.

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

The former president called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 presidential election.