The former Brazilian president taken into custody after being considered a risk of fleeing

placeholder news image

Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.

The ex-president was convicted of planning a armed takeover in September and given more than over two decades in prison, but he continued under home detention pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after fresh information were revealed.

This included trying to remove his ankle monitor and a call for a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the arrest, Justice Moraes said data from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his flight.

This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his son.

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

The senator wrote on online platforms on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your couch? I urge you to fight with us."

He said the gathering would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's determination was the chance of the former president's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of planning to request asylum through a embassy office", a declaration said.

The judicial paperwork underscores that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

The former president is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will experience a custody hearing on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that the former president be allowed to leave his home for medical care, saying he required regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other ailments.

Details of Guilty Verdict

Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, President Lula.

High Court judges said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The plot was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised public facilities in the federal district, Brasília.

The police stepped in and around 1,500 people were detained.

The justices found that the demonstrators had been incited by him whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, 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 running for public office until 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.

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

Timothy Cortez
Timothy Cortez

Maya is a tech strategist with over a decade of experience in digital transformation and innovation consulting.