Jair Bolsonaro taken into custody after being considered a flight risk

placeholder news image

The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.

The ex-president was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and sentenced more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under home detention pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information were revealed.

This involved trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could enable a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a document approving the arrest, the magistrate said data from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his escape.

This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the protest called by his offspring.

His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a legislator, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I call on you to battle with us."

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

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of the former president's transfer to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.

The court filing highlights that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative United States President President Trump, causing him to enact a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will experience a detention review on the following day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

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

They also asked that Bolsonaro be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to murder the current president and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was prevented because it didn't receive the backing of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without problem on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, many his backers stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, Brasília.

The law enforcement stepped in and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.

The magistrates found that the protesters had been encouraged by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to step in, bring back stability and return him to office.

At the moment, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also prohibited from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the next presidential race.

Anthony Jones
Anthony Jones

Default admin author