Jair Bolsonaro detained after being considered a escape threat

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The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.

The one-time leader was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he remained under home detention pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after recent developments came to light.

This encompassed trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a document approving the custody, the magistrate said intelligence from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his escape.

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

His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.

The senator wrote on online platforms on Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I invite you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of his "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The legal document underscores that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Trump, prompting him to impose a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being held in a Federal Police station in the capital and will have a detention review on the following day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with tracking devices.

They also petitioned that the former president be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Details of Guilty Verdict

Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

High Court judges said that he was aware of a scheme which included plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.

The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, many his followers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, BrasĂ­lia.

The law enforcement intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.

The justices found that the protesters had been provoked by him whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to step in, reestablish control and bring him back to power.

At the moment, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".

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

The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the next presidential race.

Sandra Walton
Sandra Walton

Award-winning journalist with over 15 years of experience covering international affairs and technology innovation.