🔗 Share this article

The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.

The one-time leader was found guilty of orchestrating a armed takeover in last fall and handed more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under confinement pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a safety action after "new facts" were revealed.

This encompassed trying to remove his tracking device and a call for a demonstration that could enable a chance to flee".

Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said data from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his flight.

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

His child, Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.

His son wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the vigil would be so supporters could offer prayers for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of the former president's transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a declaration said.

The court filing underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

Worldwide Consequences

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist United States President President Trump, leading him to implement a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being held in a national police facility in Brasilia and will experience a custody hearing on the following day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also requested that the former president be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of leading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the backing of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without issue on the first day of 2023.

But a seven days after, on 8 January, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed public facilities in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

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

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to take action, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the moment, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The one-time head of state called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him running in the next presidential race.