🔗 Share this article

Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.

The former head of state was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he remained under house arrest pending appeals.

Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after fresh information were revealed.

This involved trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his flight.

This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.

His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.

The senator wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your homeland, or observe everything from your phone there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.

The legal document underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from his dwelling.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative American leader Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on the next day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Details of Guilty Verdict

The former president was determined responsible of leading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to murder Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing the former president's case.

The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, numerous his backers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The security forces took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.

The magistrates found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the time, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also banned from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.

The former president called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the next presidential race.