🔗 Share this article

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

The former head of state was sentenced of planning a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light.

This included attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a public vigil that could "allow for a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a paperwork permitting the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's plan to remove the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his getaway".

This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.

His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.

The senator wrote on social media on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or see it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I call on you to fight with us."

He said the vigil would be so followers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of planning to seek refuge through a consular facility", a statement said.

The legal document underscores that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist US President Donald Trump, leading him to impose a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being held in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

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 home confinement, with tracking devices.

They also requested that he be allowed to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he demanded regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

He was found guilty of leading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a scheme which included plans to kill the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, the capital city.

The law enforcement intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.

The judges found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.

He was also barred from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him participating in the next presidential race.